The “Decorate with Passion” side quest in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom sees you fuse unexpected parts together to complete an unorthodox weapon. This mission leads to a rare reward as Link decorates an instrument of war to honor an NPC’s mentor. The instructions for this quest can be tricky to figure out, but those who listen carefully to the wording of the request will figure it out quickly.
The character Boraa of the Kara Kara Bazaar gives you the “Decorate with Passion” quest, specifically at coordinates (-3227, -2520, 0023) on your map. The Bazaar is a shop where you can buy tons of useful items with every earned Rupee in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom that Link has. You are asked to craft a weapon for Boraa’s mentor, and to “make it sparkle and radiate burning passion.”
There are several ways to make Rupees in Zelda: TOTK, but they’re tedious. With the Icy Meat Glitch, Link can make 40,000 Rupees in less than 10 mins.
How to Complete the Decorate with Passion Quest in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
You have to show Boraa a certain weapon as a reference first, by fusing a Ruby onto any weapon in Link’s inventory. You can talk to Boraa to learn that her mentor is allergic to Monster Parts, which tells you what Link should avoid fusing onto the example. Once you have a Ruby and a weapon, activate your Fuse ability in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom to create a new tool that Boraa can admire.
A Ruby material can be found in many caves and ore deposits around Hyrule. Normally, creating a weapon with a Ruby attached to it causes the tool to deal fire damage to enemies when you hit them with one of Link’s melee attacks.
Talk to Boraa again when you have a Ruby-infused weapon, then pick the dialogue option “What about this?” Boraa will be very happy to take the weapon back to her mentor, mentioning that he will greatly appreciate the passion in its design. This will complete the “Decorate with Passion” quest, letting Link earn a rare item in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom as a reward.
Rewards from the Decorate with Passion Quest
Boraa gives you an Electric Keese Wing as a reward for your efforts, a Monster Part used to create weapons with electric damage from fusion. Take a strong weapon and Fuse this Material on it to give Link a new source of elemental damage in their arsenal. You may also combine the Electric Keese Wing with Critters in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom to make Elixirs that could give you different positive buffs.
Another use for the Keese Wing is to make yellow dye for clothing that you collect throughout your adventures in Hyrule. The many applications of this item makes completing the “Decorate with Passion” quest a worthwhile goal in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is the anticipated follow-up to Breath of the Wild, released in 2017. A rare occurrence in Zelda titles, Tears of the Kingdom is a direct sequel instead of loosely connected. In Tears of the Kingdom, Link will take to the skies and learn about a mysterious kingdom in the clouds. Additionally, he will discover the secrets of the dark ones that dwell below and above the earth. The sequel is being built on the same engine as the original, with unique physics tools again being utilized. However, little about the plot and gameplay is known.
Girl meets boy. Boy has a brother. Brother meets girl. Brothers compete for girl’s affection. Drama ensues. It’s a story almost as old as time itself. But the thing about “My Life With the Walter Boys” that helps it stand out is… Uh…
I can come up with no good ending to that sentence. And therein lies the problem.
Created by Melanie Halsall and adapted from the 2014 novel of the same name by Ali Novak (which she wrote at the age of 15 and originally published on Wattpad), “My Life With the Walter Boys” follows 15-year-old Jackie Howard (Nikki Rodriguez), who is all set to have the best sophomore year ever at her elite New York City private school when disaster strikes — her entire family is killed in a horrible accident. After the funeral, Jackie has to uproot her life to go meet her new guardians, George and Katherine Walter (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer” actor Marc Blucas and “Suits” star Sarah Rafferty), who live on a ranch in the small town of Silver Falls, Colo.
Back in their college days, Katherine was Jackie’s mother’s best friend, but life got in the way. It’s been a long time since they were able to see one another, making the Walters strangers to Jackie. The strain on Katherine’s schedule is understandable, since she and George have eight biological children and two nephews living under their roof. Honestly, it’s a wonder either of them has time to blink, much less keep up long-distance friendships.
Enter the titular Walter boys: 20-something Will (Johnny Link), bad boy Cole (Noah LaLonde) and his twin, aspiring thespian Danny (Connor Stanhope), sensitive Alex (Ashby Gentry), musician Nathan (Corey Fogelmanis), filmmaker Jordan (Dean Petriw), and five-year-old Benny (Lennix James). Rounding out the family are nine-year-old Parker (Alix West Lefler), the only girl in the sea of boys, and Walter cousins Lee (Myles Perez) and Isaac (Isaac Arellanes) Garcia. With the exception of Benny, Parker and Will, all of these kids are in high school.
Right off the bat, it’s clear that the main competition for Jackie’s affections will be between Cole and Alex, who waste no time getting straight to smoldering the second they’re introduced to their new housemate. What follows is a predictably angsty high school love triangle, with both boys vying for Jackie’s attention and her wrestling with her feelings for each of them throughout the school year.
Corey Fogelmanis (left), Ashby Gentry, Connor Stanhope, Noah LaLonde, Sarah Rafferty, Marc Blucas, Alex Quijano, Nikki Rodriguez, Zoë Soul, Alisha Newton, Isaac Arellanes and Myles Perez in “My Life with the Walter Boys.” (Netflix)
There is absolutely nothing wrong with this formula. Families are tricky, sibling rivalry is inevitable, grief is hard, and if science could figure out a way to channel the raw power of teenage hormones into something useful, we could be done with fossil fuels tomorrow. There are plenty of great shows delivering fantastic characters and thoughtful storytelling that exist within this space: Prime Video’s “The Summer I Turned Pretty,” and Netflix’s “Never Have I Ever” and “Heartstopper” are just a few recent series that have charmed audiences of all ages, to say nothing of the angsty teen classics of the past such as “Dawson’s Creek,” “Gossip Girl” and “Party of Five.”
High school can be a wild time, which makes for great stories. So when I say that “My Life With the Walter Boys” falls flat, it’s not because the bones of a great series weren’t there. The premise is fine (yes, I had to do some math to make sure that the ages of all the boys actually work on a gestational level, but they do. Katherine would have been extremely tired, but at least she was not defying the laws of nature). The characters could have worked too, if only they were given some room to develop any sort of identity of their own beyond simple tropes.
The first time Jackie encounters Cole, he is emerging from a pool in slow motion, shaking water droplets from his hair and sunning himself like a teenage Adonis. Rather than introduce himself as all the others are doing, he smirks and tells his brother she’ll “figure out” who he is. The next time he sees her, he bestows upon her the nickname “New York,” and then justifies his rudeness by telling Will that “she’ll have to learn to take a little rough and tumble” to make it in Colorado.
Keep in mind, Jackie has barely said two words to Cole at this point, but he’s already decided to antagonize her for… reasons. Ah yes, classic bad boy.
Nikki Rodriguez and Noah LaLonde in “My Life with the Walter Boys.” (Netflix)
Most of the other boys are similarly introduced doing the one activity that will henceforth be their thing(Italicize): Danny is reading a script. Nathan is playing guitar. Jordan is behind a video camera (an odd touch that feels very early aughts, considering that now most teens just film on their phones). Alex is ostensibly playing video games but pauses immediately to gaze longingly at Jackie, a thing he will do a lot of in this series.
And… that’s kind of the show in a nutshell. Most of the Walker boys (and cousins) are never developed much beyond their singular interest in their hobby of choice. The sole exception outside of the Cole-Jackie-Alex love triangle may be Nathan, who gets a sweet (if underdeveloped) romantic subplot where he clumsily attempts to woo Jackie’s friend Skylar (Jaylan Evans). Otherwise, I ended the season not knowing much more about most of the people living in the Walker household than I did in the first episode.
Maybe it’s to be expected in a show with a large ensemble that some of the supporting characters will be given short shrift in service of the main plot. But Alex, Cole and Jackie fare a little better, each coming across more as a collection of YA stereotypes than as actual humans. Alex, the sensitive one, likes to read (his book of choice? “Fellowship of the Ring,”), and has a female best friend who has long harbored a secret crush on him. Cole, the bad boy, has a Regina George-like on-and-off girlfriend, a major chip on his shoulder thanks to a leg injury that derailed his hopes of a collegiate football career, and of course, a heart of gold when it comes to Jackie.
Nikki Rodriguez as Jackie in “My Life with the Walter Boys.” (Netflix)
And then there’s Jackie herself, who, despite Rodriguez’s inherent charm, has the personality of an unfrosted Pop-Tart. Most of the time, her interests seem determined solely by her laser-focus to attend Princeton (she’s only a sophomore, but is Rory Gilmore-esque in her Ivy League determination). While throwing yourself into an activity is one way some people process grief, this doesn’t seem to mark much of a change from who Jackie was before the loss of her family.
Similarly, Jackie’s attractions to both Cole and Alex, and her trauma itself, ebb and flow more with the demands of the plot than Jackie’s own wants, needs and struggles. Her attraction to each brother depends mostly on which one is standing closest to her at the time, and her grief only makes brief, convenient appearances in between school events and almost-kissing.
And therein lies the rub. With few exceptions, the entire world of “My Life With the Walter Boys” feels flimsy and thin, a surface-level amalgamation of popular tropes (Forced proximity! Grumpy-sunshine! Opposites attract! Forbidden romance!) with little substance underneath.
Unfortunately, that shallowness also applies to the show’s somewhat diverse cast. Jackie and the Garcia brothers are Latinx, Skylar is Black Indigenous, Will’s fiance Haley (Zoë Soul) is Black, and a number of supporting characters are from other various marginalized backgrounds. But for the most part, none of those diverse identities seem to impact how the characters move through the world, with the exception of Skylar and his father. In the second episode, Skylar tells Jackie that he intends on becoming a political journalist because “people from my background, we don’t have much political influence. I want to change that.”
An admirable goal, of course. But stated here in such a generic way that it feels more like checking a box than Skylar speaking from his heart.
That scene serves as an illustration for the entire show’s approach to racial diversity. It’s there on the surface, but feels more like tokenism than thoughtful representation. That isn’t to say that all shows with diverse casts need to be about marginalization; far from it. But the diversity of Silver Falls feels mostly colorblind in its approach, rather than authentic to the way marginalized individuals truly move through the world.
It’s unfortunate, because the cast seems to be doing their best with the flimsy material they’ve been given, and there are occasional moments where a better show peeks out from underneath. It’s most evident in the scenes with Katherine and George, who despite their busy careers (Katherine is a vet; George’s job, as far as I can tell, is simply “ranch”) are some of the more involved parents on TV, and Rafferty especially does a great job of sympathetically portraying the highs and lows of parenting eleven kids. Ashley Holliday Tavares is delightful in her scenes as high school guidance counselor Tara, making the most of her sparsely drawn (yet still kind of adorable) romantic subplot.
Sarah Rafferty and Marc Blucas in “My Life with the Walter Boys.” (Chris Large/Netflix)
But those bright moments are too few and far between, and bogged down by contrived conflicts, whiplash-inducing character shifts, and some very confused chronology that may give you a migraine if you try to examine it too closely. By the time Jackie finally picks a brother, I’d be hard pressed to tell you why. Her relationships with both still seem superficial, as do their bonds with each other and the entire backstory of their rivalry.
I mentioned earlier that Novak originally penned “My Life With the Walter Boys” when she was 15 years old, which is amazing. Few 15-year-olds will ever even start writing a novel, much less finish one, find a publisher and get that novel adapted into a Netflix series. It’s a huge accomplishment, and one most writers of any age would envy.
But it’s been nearly a decade since the novel was first released in 2014, and even longer since Novak was uploading it for free on Wattpad. There’s a reason it was so popular back then, and why it was picked up for a series now. As I said before, the bones are there. But the problem with “My Life With the Walter Boys” is that it still feels like a teenager’s first attempt at writing a story, with none of the perspective and maturity that comes from existing in the world beyond high school (even if your characters are still stuck there).
If there is a Season 2 of “My Life With the Walter Boys” — and the ending of Season 1 certainly tees one up — my hope is that it moves beyond archetypes and tropes and allows its characters to breathe a little. Let them be complex. Let them be messy. Let them figure out who they really are, and let those identities inform where they go.
“My Life With the Walter Boys” premieres Thursday, Dec. 7, on Netflix.
The second Asia TV Forum and Market IP Accelerator (AIPA) closed with four winners bagging prizes valued at more than S$80,000 ($59,700) from the three sponsors of the event.
The 108 Media Development Award of S$15,000 towards project development went to Thailand’s “My Chef in Crime,” a crime-comedy series by producer Bo Rattanavich and director Cheewatun Pusitsuksa of My Shot Co. Ltd.
Sasha Hunt, senior creative development executive of 108 Media, said: ” ‘My Chef in Crime’ masterfully integrates Thai culinary expertise with a captivating crime narrative, artfully accentuating cultural depth within its unique storytelling genre fusion.”
The dual prizes by Red Digital Camera and AV8 Media of camera package loans up to $50,000 went to “Pushkar,” a feature-length documentary of an ancient Indian town and its denizens by Singaporean director-producer Colin Wee (production company Two Lefthands) and to “What Do Mums Cook in Asia?” a reality-format program from Thailand on how to feed children multicultural meals, with unique insights into food practices across the region.
Lee Lim, managing director APAC at Red Digital Cinema and Himanshu Shah, managing director at AV8 Media said: “We were very impressed with the quality and diversity of the projects in the market this year. It wasn’t an easy decision for us, but we feel that the projects chosen were the best suited to benefit from the Red award.”
The Film Bazaar Award, which arose from a cross-market partnership with the NFDC Film Bazaar and the Southeast Asian Audio-Visual Association (SAAVA) this year during the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) Goa, went to “Love Letter to Laos,” a globe-trotting feature drama from Canada and Laos. The project will be invited automatically to the 2024 edition of NFDC Film Bazaar as part of its curated co-production Market.
Vani Tripathi Tikoo, actor-producer and steering committee member, IFFI, said: “It’s an opportune moment between India and Singapore to be at the ATF this year and looking at the co-production projects as with with AIPA being at the Film Bazaar, the reciprocation between regions is happening finally. We look forward to this collaboration becoming more and more creative and collaborative in each edition.”
Canadians hoping for better food prices going into 2024 may not get their wish immediately, but as inflation cools, a new report suggests people could soon see some savings at the grocery store.
“That doesn’t mean that everything is going to be cheaper than it was before. It absolutely is not,” said Janet Music, one of the authors of the report, in an interview with Global News. “But it’s not going to be as expensive if things were going to keep going as they were.”
The report predicts food costs will go up across most categories, with the highest being among bakery, meat and vegetables — all showing an estimated five to seven per cent increase. However, the report expects dairy and fruits will see the lowest rise, at just one to two per cent. Restaurants are expected to see a modest increase of three to five per cent, while what the report calls “other” foods will rise about two to four.
Story continues below advertisement
According to the researchers, on average, a family of four can expect to spend up to $16,297.20, an increase of about $701.79 compared with what was spent in 2023. A two-adult household is expected to spend about $7,715.78, an increase of about $4 from the predicted amount the year prior.
The annual report is led by teams from Dalhousie University, the University of British Columbia, the University of Guelph and the University of Saskatchewan who use price data from the past 100 years to help create prediction models. Global events and other potential impacts are also factored in to form a detailed outlook for the months to come.
Music said whether the researchers’ forecasts play out will depend on how much Canadian families spend and whether they cut back on the types of foods they buy as was seen this past year, when they spent $693 less than the predicted $16,288.40.
While it may seem that the decrease could’ve meant savings in Canadians’ pockets, Music said the money may have gone elsewhere.
Food prices predicted to rise despite slowing inflation
“The alarming thing about what we see in this report is that people, they weren’t buying as much food as they would have been this time two years ago,” Music said. “Where is that money going and why is this happening? It’s difficult to say, but … a very good kind of correlation is what we’re seeing in shelter costs.”
Story continues below advertisement
Next year’s expected increases come as food inflation sits at about 5.4 per cent, according to Statistics Canada figures released last month. September saw the rate at about 5.8 per cent which was a drop from 6.9 per cent in August.
Grocers under pressure to stabilize food prices
As Canadians faced the rising costs over the past year, grocers have been under pressure from the federal government to stabilize food prices, which has included a proposed grocer code of conduct.
A steering committee was established to oversee the development of the code in July 2021, but as it nears completion, several grocery chains have expressed concerns with Loblaw Companies Ltd., suggesting it could raise prices by more than $1 billion, according to a letter obtained by The Canadian Press.
Walmart Canada’s spokesperson Sarah Kennedy also said in an email to The Canadian Press in October that the company supports initiatives to benefit customers, but there could be “unnecessary burdens” that would be added to customers.
Story continues below advertisement
The code is near completion with plans to have it and the non-profit organization overseeing it up and running by the end of the first quarter of 2024.
However, Fraser Johnson, professor of operations management at Ivey Business School, said government agencies should not only look at grocers when it comes to trying to tackle food prices as other food retailers can impact the market, such as General Mills, Maple Leaf Foods and Proctor and Gamble.
Could a grocery code of conduct cut food prices?
“Ultimately what the retailers are doing is passing on their costs to the consumers,” Johnson said in an interview with Global News. “So not only do the retailers have to be responsible in terms of their pricing practices, but they also have to be aggressive with their suppliers to make sure that they’re getting competitive prices.”
Even though food inflation appears to be easing, the report notes various factors including the ongoing war in Ukraine, increased oil prices, and inflationary pressure due to escalating conflict in the Middle East could still cause higher prices in products like meat and bakery items.
It also noted climate change and energy costs — both of which have a very significant impact on prices — were very likely to shape the projected food costs next year. Issues like input costs or geopolitical risks, which can also have significant impacts, are likely to have an effect but it’s yet to be seen if it will be an increase or decrease, according to the researchers.
Johnson said with input costs decreasing it has meant a drop in grain prices, while the declining oil prices has resulted in a drop in transportation costs for food as well. He said these factors, as well as other drops in costs like packaging, will likely help ease some of the shocking prices seen earlier this year.
“I think the good news for the consumer is that we’ll continue to see a deceleration of food prices in 2024, probably in the range of around three per cent throughout the year,” Johnson said.
Food prices set to rise another 5-7% in 2023 after record inflation year: report
When it comes to these sorts of issues, Music says people can have an impact in various ways from calling on politicians to look for solutions to conflicts, or even tackling climate change through what people spend at the grocery story.
Story continues below advertisement
“I think people are making active choices to spend less money on food and that actually is a very good thing,” she said. “That will cut down on food waste, which does contribute to greenhouse gases and climate change as well.”
Looking at a coast-to-coast perspective, the report also notes while we could still see a widespread increase in food inflation, some provinces like Newfoundland and Labrador, Quebec and Prince Edward Island are forecast to see a drop — though they also have some of the highest percentage increases for food prices with both P.E.I. and Quebec sitting at 6.7 per cent.
But Johnson notes that while consumers going into their stores may not see a sudden drop in their milk or meat, at the same time they don’t have to worry about seeing the 10 per cent increases they saw in the winter or spring of 2023.
“I think, for individual shoppers, that will create opportunities to be able to look for substitutes, for looking at different retailers, for example, basically to be able to stabilize their food expenditures,” he said.
Music said people would still be smart to be diligent at watching receipts when buying groceries, plan meals ahead of time so you know what to buy, shop at different stores to find better prices and even use apps that have coupons available to use when shopping.
“Would I say that there’s going to be a collective sigh of relief on food prices, I think that may be a bit extreme,” she said. “But I think people can be cautiously optimistic in terms of some food prices.”
Story continues below advertisement
-with files from The Canadian Press, Global News’ Sean Boynton and Anne Gaviola
Oprah Winfrey is putting in the work when it comes to getting fit and healthy, and it’s clear the effort is paying off.
The celebrated TV personality and media mogul showed off her impressive physique in a striking, regal violet gown on the purple carpet at the star-studded premiere ofThe Color Purple at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles on Wednesday.
Talking with ET’s Kevin Frazier from the purple carpet, Winfrey, 69, addressed her recent physical transformation when asked what she’s been doing to get results.
“It’s not one thing, it’s everything,” Winfrey shared.
Winfrey emphasized just how much she’s had to change and do to look fantastic, and added, “I intend to keep it that way.”
“I was on that treadmill today,” explained Winfrey, who basked in the spotlight in her stunning ensemble.
Stewart Cook/Getty Images
Winfrey serves as an executive producer on this new take on The Color Purple — adapted from the Broadway musical which, itself, is based on the original 1985 drama and novel of the same name from 1982.
Winfrey, however, starred in the 1985 drama, earning an Oscar nomination for her performance, and she reflected on the film’s big premiere nearly four decades ago.
“David Letterman was escorting me across the street, and I remember that it was a really big night,” Winfrey recalled. “Tina Turner was there, and Sydney Poitier was there, and, you know, they’re no longer with us, but it was really, really important and I’ll never forget it.”
The Color Purple — starring Fantasia Barrino, Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks, Colman Domingo, Corey Hawkins, H.E.R., Ciara, Aunjanue Ellis, Jon Batiste, Louis Gossett Jr., David Alan Grier and Deon Cole — comes out Dec. 25.
Talent is the bedrock of every company. Every organization is defined by the employees keeping things running smoothly. That’s why most companies have dedicated human resource (HR) departments to help manage employees.
HR departments use software to streamline their work and manage employees better. Software helps with documentation, payroll, performance reviews, corporate surveys, and other critical organizational tasks.
The HR software tools a company adopts can make or break it. Hence, it’s not a decision to take lightly. We want to explain the seven most important things to consider when looking for an HR software solution. There are many factors, but these are the critical ones to consider. They include:
1. Scalability
Companies don’t stay the same size forever. Your organization can have just 20 employees today and 200+ in a few years time. Hence, you must choose a software tool that’s scalable. The tool should be able to handle the increasing workload without sacrificing performance.
For example, an organization chooses a specific employee records management system when it has only 40 employees. Business booms in the short term, and the company hires rapidly to keep up with increasing customer demand.
The records management system must be able to handle the increasing documentation requirements. There should be enough storage space to keep and organize more documents. The software shouldn’t slow down because of increasing usage.
HR tools are either cloud-based or on-premise. Cloud-based tools scale easily because the vendor handles the tasks of adding more server space to cater to customers’ needs. On-premise means a company runs the tool on its own servers, so it needs to add more servers to meet increasing storage demands. Cloud-based tools are more convenient overall, but some companies choose on-premise for better privacy and customizability.
A scalable HR software tool means you’ll have peace of mind as your company expands.
2. Intuitive design
Your HR software should have an intuitive design that makes it easy to navigate. The interface should preferably be modern and responsive, with features arranged neatly across the dashboard. A layman should understand how to navigate the platform within an hour of usage.
Most people who use HR software will be non-technical. Hence, you don’t want a platform that demands users to crack their heads to figure out how to use it effectively. Poorly designed software can lead to costly mistakes, e.g., inputting the wrong payroll data.
HR systems are usually cloud-based, which makes them easy to access. Employees can log in from anywhere and update their personal information, e.g., phone number and bank account details, but of course, not job-related details like job title, salary, etc. An employee just needs the right username and password to log in from any Internet-connected device, which forms part of the intuitiveness of an HR platform. You don’t want your HR staff to be receiving multiple complaints from employees about how to use the platform.
Performance is also part of intuitive design. You need a system that responds swiftly to user commands and smoothens their workflow.
3. Documentation
Documentation is an unnegotiable part of HR systems. The system should function as a central repository to store critical information and retrieve it anytime. Documentation is the primary reason HR software tools were invested in the first place. Imagine companies had to maintain mountains of paper documents about employees and sift through them when they need specific information; that would be very inconvenient.
Instead, HR systems store documents online, and staff can retrieve them anytime. HR staff can store personal identification, performance reports, survey results, etc., and other sensitive documents pertaining to each employee. If they need details about a specific employee, they can just search and retrieve it.
HR systems also store information all staff members can access, e.g., organizational handbook, policies, and technical documentation. It’s convenient for everyone to access documents from a central platform.
Your HR system should let you store documents in as many file systems as possible. It should make it easy to search through the files to get the one you want at a specific time. There’s no use storing a large volume of files and finding it difficult to sift through them. Fortunately, many HR systems meet this criteria.
4. Security
Security is critical in every digital platform and more so for HR systems that store sensitive information. Your HR system must have advanced security features to prevent unauthorized data access and information theft. If a malicious actor breaches your company’s HR system, they could cause severe damage, e.g., stealing employees’ identities to impersonate your organization and trick customers into giving them money.
The advanced security features to look for in an HR system include:
Requiring two modes of identification before granting access to an employee’s account. The first is the correct username and password, and the second is a one-time PIN sent to the user’s phone number, email address, or authentication app. This feature prevents hackers from accessing staff accounts even if they somehow get the password.
Your HR system should encrypt data in transit and at rest. Luckily, most HR systems use Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol to encrypt data as it’s being transmitted between your device and the platform’s servers. This protocol encrypts data with keys of up to 4,096 bits, making it impenetrable by brute force. If a hacker somehow intercepts the data in transit, it’ll be useless to them because they don’t have the keys to decrypt it.
The system should have strict configurations determining who can access sensitive employee data. For instance, you can allow only a select few HR staff to access sensitive employee details, reducing the risks of the data being stolen by an unauthorized party.
The HR system should let you restrict data access based on a user’s role and permissions.
The system should keep logs whenever a user accesses sensitive data and raise an alarm if it observes suspicious patterns from a user. This way, you can easily determine the source of a potential leak or data breach.
Even when you try your best to secure a system, there’s still a slight chance of falling victim to data theft or corruption. Hence, your system should allow you to create regular data backups to avoid severe losses if theft or corruption occurs. If such a thing happens, you can restore a recent backup and continue operating as usual.
5. Collaboration
Collaboration is vital in every modern organization, and your HR system shouldn’t be left behind. It should have collaborative features that allow multiple staff to work together and achieve common goals.
Users should be able to share information seamlessly amongst each other on an HR system. For example, employees should be able to provide feedback about fellow colleagues, leadership, and the company’s general direction. HR staff can create surveys for employees to fill out, helping them evaluate employee morale.
Some tools may not come with built-in collaborative features. However, it’s a plus when there’s third-party integration with a collaboration app. For example, BambooHR has an app on Slack’s App Directory, allowing people to look up employee information directly and submit new time off requests from Slack.
6. Mobile functionality
Smartphones and tablets represent the fastest-growing segment of the digital world. People prefer HR systems they can access on the go from their mobile phones instead of opening a PC whenever they want to work with the system.
Fortunately, most modern HR software tools have apps for iOS and Android, the two most popular mobile operating systems. Employees can download the mobile app from the relevant app store and access critical information wherever and whenever they want.
You can smartphone apps in many situations where it’s virtually impossible to use a PC, e.g., while taking a walk.
7. Training and support
It can be difficult to set an HR system initially. Hence, you need a platform that offers significant training and support to customers. Your organization should have access to training materials and/or personnel to help with the initial system setup. There should also be a regular support line allowing you to contact the platform’s developers if you encounter serious issues you can’t solve yourself.
Adequate customer support makes a platform more convenient to use, as you’re sure of getting professional help if things go wrong. Endeavor to read previous customer reviews for any platform you’re considering to know if they offer good support.
Conclusion
HR software can make or break an organization. Choosing the wrong one can disrupt a business’s operations and make them lose significant revenue. To avoid such problems, we’ve listed the seven most important factors to consider when looking for a HR software solution. Any platform you choose should score high in these factors, or you might experience issues along the way.
Follow our tips, and you’ll likely choose good HR software tools that’ll help increase your organization’s productivity.
YouTube is branching out into games — at least for its paid subscribers. The platform is giving Premium users access to a set of online games that can be directly played on either the mobile app or desktop app. Known as “Playables,” the company first debuted the experimental feature to select users in September. As noted by Droid-Life, YouTube sent a notification last week to Premium subscribers informing them of Playables and allowing them to try it out. Those who opt in will be able to play a total of 37 mini-games that effectively live inside YouTube — there’s no need to download or install them.
The selection of games isn’t too challenging or “out there” — they include crowd-pleasers like Angry Birds Showdown, Brain Out, Daily Solitaire, The Daily Crossword,and a number of arcade games. And they may not be here to stay. YouTube Premium’s notification stated that the games would be available until March 28th, 2024. For now, Premium members can find the full library of games under the “Playables” section in the Explore tab.
YouTube joins a long list of non-gaming tech companies that are trying to expand into games — often with mixed results. After years of hype, Google officially axed its Stadia service in January. Just a couple of weeks ago, Amazon cut over 130 jobs in its free games division and announced it would “refocus” its efforts. In 2021, TikTok teased what it called a “major push” in gaming, only for owner ByteDance to announce on Monday that it would be laying off around 1,000 workers in its gaming unit.
But a less than stellar track record hasn’t stopped other tech companies from pushing forward into gaming. Meta’s experiment with Instant Games has been roughly seven years in the making; the platform this month launched a new distribution model that lets developers publish beta versions of their games directly on Facebook. Netflix has been releasing games exclusively on mobile (the reviews of which are prettymixed), and wants to expand into cloud games — though it’ll likely be a while until they’re available to the public.
YouTube’s experiments are nothing new; the platform often tests features on its paid subscribers before deciding whether to add them permanently. In addition to Playables, Premium members can also sign up to try out YouTube’s conversational AI feature that lets users ask questions about videos they’re viewing.
YouTube’s Playables seems less of an appeal to serious gamers than a way to sweeten the pot for its paid subscribers. The company raised the price of its Premium plan by $2 this summer, and there have been similar streaming subscription price increases by Netflix, Apple, Amazon, and others. As these services get pricier, some users will naturally cancel their subscriptions. While it’s hard to imagine someone explicitly signing up for YouTube Premium solely for the Playables games, they may convince some on-the-fence users to stay for longer.
When a classmate learns that new girl Jackie (Nikki Rodriguez) has recently moved in with the Walter family, she practically squeals with excitement. “You’re like the luckiest girl in this whole school,” she gushes, describing Jackie’s situation as “boy heaven.”
The comment is more than a little tactless, considering Jackie was only taken in by the Walters after losing her entire family to a car accident. But it’s also an accurate diagnosis of the fantasy that Netflix‘s My Life With the Walter Boys is meant to represent, in which prim and pretty Jackie finds herself living among all the most eligible teenage bachelors in town. Alas, dull characters and sluggish pacing put a damper on the daydream before it ever has a chance to properly ignite.
My Life With the Walter Boys
The Bottom Line
A lackluster collection of clichés.
Airdate: Thursday, Dec. 7 (Netflix) Cast: Nikki Rodriguez, Noah LaLonde, Ashby Gentry, Sarah Rafferty, Marc Blucas, Johnny Link, Zoë Soul, Connor Stanhope, Corey Fogelmanis, Jaylan Evans Creator: Melanie Halsall, based on the novel by Ali Novak
The single most striking scene of My Life With the Walter Boys comes very early on, when ex-New Yorker Jackie pulls up to the Walters’ Colorado ranch to find Walter boys seemingly sprawled across every surface and spilling out from every doorway. However many of them you’re imagining right now, I can almost guarantee you there’s more: The final sum is seven Walter sons plus two male Walter cousins plus one preadolescent Walter daughter, all under the loving care of orchard farmer George (Marc Blucas) and vet Katherine (Sarah Rafferty). Of those nine Walter boys, six are in high school with Jackie. Of those six, two fall in love with Jackie more or less on sight. Many of the season’s 10 45-minute episodes are dedicated to Jackie hemming and hawing between them.
But the wish fulfillment of Jackie’s dilemma falls flat when neither option actually seems very appealing. My Life With the Walter Boys, adapted by Melanie Halsall from the book by Ali Novak, recognizes the tropes to make the love triangle land, but not how to bring them to life. Cole (Noah LaLonde) is the jerk with the heart of gold (and the Abercrombie-model abs to match). But the ratio of “jerk” to “heart of gold” is off, so he reads most of the time as a garden-variety douchebag who mistreats everyone in his orbit. Likewise, Alex (Ashby Gentry) is the designated nice guy — but he’s saddled with a neediness that seems about to curdle at any moment into toxic self-pity. In any case, both brothers seem far more invested in their lifelong rivalry with each other than their supposedly once-in-a-lifetime chemistry with Jackie.
Indeed, for a romantic drama, My Life With the Walter Boys is frustratingly short on pairings worth rooting for, let alone swooning over. When Nathan (Corey Fogelmanis), the gay Walter Boy, subjects his crush Skylar (Jaylan Evans) to a grand romantic gesture, we’re meant to understand Skylar’s ambivalence as misguided cynicism rather than a clear indication that he’s just not into the dude. Will (Johnny Link), the 24-year-old firstborn Walter Boy, is mired in a subplot in which he consistently neglects and lies to his fiancée, Hayley (Zoë Soul), for the sake of his career, and then acts stunned and hurt when she points out that they’re growing apart. The platonic pairings fare slightly better — the gradual thawing between Jackie and Cole’s on-off girlfriend Erin (Alisha Newton) is one of the season’s more compelling throughlines — but that only made me root for the various Walter Boy Love Interests to come together as one and realize they collectively deserve better.
On some dramas, such bad behavior can be part of the draw; no one is watching Euphoria or Yellowjackets for the unfailing kindness of their leads. But My Life With the Walter Boys barely imbues its characters with memorable quirks, let alone interiorities complex enough to make us care about them in spite of their flaws. This is a problem in the premiere, and it’s a much bigger problem by the finale, at which point it becomes impossible not to notice how two-dimensional all these people seem even after we’ve spent hours upon hours with them.
My Life With the Walter Boys aims for nothing more or less than to deliver cozy familiarity, and on a superficial level it hits that mark passably enough. The rural scenery is pretty, but not so majestic as to feel distant. The interiors are somehow simultaneously relatable and aspirational (how does this family of 12 keep their kitchen so spotless??). The city-girl-in-a-small-town premise puts it right in line with Hallmark holiday fare; the teen love triangle could be ripped from Amazon’s The Summer I Turned Pretty or Netflix’s own To All the Boys franchise. While the characters run into problems here and there — money troubles, college-admissions stress, a health scare — happy endings prevail more often than not. It’s just that I couldn’t feel much in the way of warm fuzzies from a show whose characters so frequently left me cold.
My Life With the Walter Boys takes as one of its guiding principles that “nothing is so broken it can’t be fixed.” A shattered teapot can be glued back together. A frayed relationship can be mended with apologies. Even a life-changing setback can, with courage and love, turn into an opportunity to forge a different path forward. It’s possible, then, that a prospective second season could right the ship — the finale does end with a glimmer of hope that Jackie might finally find something to do besides angst over her overabundance of suitors. But I suspect the true corollary to that mantra should be that some things remain so flimsy, they aren’t worth keeping to begin with.
“Probably the most beautiful, heartfelt ending that just made a superb movie perfect. No one leaves without a dry eye. Tears of joy, sadness, what might have been and sweet memories. I simply cannot think of a more perfect ending in any film I have ever seen.”
Ena Sendijarević’s “Sweet Dreams,” Netherlands’ submission in the Academy Awards international feature category, has secured North American distribution via Dekanalog.
The film had its world premiere at Locarno, where it won the Pardo for best performance for Renée Soutendijk (“Suspiria”) and the second prize of the junior jury. The film debuted in North America in Toronto’s Centrepiece section and won the Silver Hugo new directors award at Chicago. It opened the Nederlands Film Festival, where it won another six awards, including best film, best director and best leading role.
Set on a remote Indonesian island, “Sweet Dreams” explores the final days of European colonialism. It follows Dutch sugar plantation owner Jan and his wife Agathe, who are at the top of the food chain. Jan, upon returning from his nightly visit to his native concubine Siti, suddenly drops dead in front of his wife. Desperate to keep the privileges of her status quo, Agathe forces her estranged son Cornelis and his heavily pregnant wife Josefien, to travel from Europe and take over the family business. In the midst of a worker’s uprising, Cornelis displays his plans for progressive change. But when Jan’s will puts Siti at the forefront of the family estate, ideals prove to be idle and blood thicker than water.
Reviewing the film for Variety, critic Jessica Kiang wrote: “The director has developed a striking visual style, using formalist, pictorialist framing and symmetry to suggest the desperate asymmetries of colonial power, in a manner that recalls Lucrecia Martel’s ‘Zama’ or more recently, Felipe Gálvez Haberle’s ‘The Settlers.’”
“Sweet Dreams” is produced by Erik Glijnis and Leontine Petit of Lemming Film (Netherlands) in co-production with Erik Hemmendorff of Plattform Produktion (Sweden), Kristina Börjeson (Film I Vast, Sweden), Martien Vlietman (VPRO, Netherlands) and Mandy Marahimin (Tala Media, Indonesia). Judy Tossell, Laurent Medea and Sendijarević are executive producers.
Gusto Entertainment is releasing the film in Benelux and Plattform Distribution in Sweden along with Warner Bros. Discovery in the Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Moldova, Albania, Bulgaria and the Adriatic countries.
Dekanalog, founded in 2020 by Elijah Drenner, Lysa Le, and George Schmalz, is a film and soundtrack distribution company dedicated to the release of unique filmmaking voices and musical scores from around the world.
Sendijarević’s’s feature debut “Take Me Somewhere Nice” won awards at Rotterdam and Sarajevo.
Lysa Le of Dekanalog said: “We have long been admirers of Ena’s work, and are thrilled to work with her again for the release of ‘Sweet Dreams’ – the next step in her cinematic evolution.”
The film is represented by Athens-based sales outfit Heretic. Ioanna Stais, head of sales and acquisitions at Heretic, said: “Ena’s thematic perspective, energetic approach and unique satirical streak makes us feel confident that ‘Sweet Dreams’ is bound to resonate for a long time, touching on themes always relevant in public discourse. We’re tremendously excited to be sharing it with North American audiences.”
Erik Glijnis of Lemming Film added: “Following an incredibly rewarding Dutch theatrical run amidst its Oscar campaign, we’re thrilled to partner up with Dekanalog and that ‘Sweet Dreams’ will find its audience in theatres across the United States.”
Elizabeth Olsen’s 2024 MCU Return Possibly Spoiled
Marvel
WandaVision and Agatha: Darkhold Diaries star Asif Ali may have spoiled that Elizabeth Olsen is set to return to the MCU as Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch in 2024’s Agatha: Darkhold Diaries.
Responding to a comment on his Instagram page asking “Will Wanda be in Agatha’s show, bro? Please..,” Ali enthusiastically responded “Yes!,” indicating that Olsen would make her comeback in this series.
It is important to note that the comment has since been deleted, indicating that Ali may have revealed something that wasn’t meant to be shared yet or, equally, he could have misspoken in his statement.
An appearance in 2024’s Agatha: Darkhold Diaries would mark her second appearance in around a year following her voiceover role as the Scarlet Witch in Season 2 of the animated What If…? in the final days of 2023.
“I mean, I would do anything with Hahn, yeah. No, I’m not appearing in it, not as far as I’m aware, but I love that woman so much. That entire show was just filled with lots of joy, it was great.”
Will Elizabeth Olsen Really Be Disney+’s Agatha Series?
From a story standpoint, most fans wouldn’t be shocked to see Olsen make her return in Agatha: Darkhold Diaries, especially after how popular WandaVision was due to Olsen and Hahn’s partnership as it kicked off Phase 4.
And even though Olsen hasn’t necessarily been eager to suit up once again for Marvel Studios since her last appearance, all signs seem to point to another round of action for her character coming to the MCU sooner or later.
While 2024 won’t contain quite as many projects as this past year did, fans can still expect DC television to show up once again in both live-action and animation.
DC’s 2023 TV Show Slate
The Penguin
Max
Max’sThe Penguin does not have an official release date yet, but it was recently confirmed that the project was delayed from Spring 2024 to Fall 2024 due to the writers’ and actors’ strikes that both recently ended.
While there will be other DC TV shows that will be released in 2024, it is important to note that The Penguin will be the only live-action title on the slate.
Many were met with disappointment when it was reportedCreature Commandos was delayed to 2025, but Gunn quickly clarified on X (formerly known as Twitter) that the animated series is still on track to be released sometime in 2024:
“Yes, ‘Creature Commandos’ is all set to come out in 2024. There have never been any delays, thank goodness. Any info otherwise is a well-intentioned mistake or misspeaking.”
One interesting note regarding Creature Commandos is that, according to Gunn, many of the monstrous characters will eventually cross over into live-action. The co-CEO of DC Studios specifically stated, “Some of them yes are already a part of live-action plans.”
Kite Man: Hell Yeah!
Max
Another animated DC TV show that will be released in 2024 is Kite Man: Hell Yeah!, a spin-off to Max’s successful Harley Quinn series that just finished its fourth season in 2023.
Kite Man will be set in the same universe as Harley Quinn, and storyboard artist and comic author Christopher Jones (who is working on the upcoming series) recently revealed that, while there will be similarities between Kite Man and Harley Quinn, the two will be unique in their own ways.
Suicide Squad: Isekai
DC Studios
Another new upcoming show on DC’s 2024 slate is Suicide Squad: Isekai, which will be an anime about Task Force X.
Season 4 of Kaley Cuoco’s Harley Quinn ended on September 14, but just two months later on November 16, it was officially renewed for Season 5 on Max.
While it hasn’t been confirmed that Season 5 will come out in 2024, both Season 3 was released on July 28, 2022, and Season 4 premiered on July 27, 2023, so it can be expected that Season 5 will come out around that same time in 2024.
Fans can expect to see more of Harley and Lake Bell’s Poison Ivy in the upcoming installment, and in a statement that was shared by Variety, Executive Vice President of Alternative Programming at Warner Bros. Animation Peter Girardi teased that Season 5 will be “[their biggest swing yet:”
“‘Harley Quinn’has raised the comedic crowbar with every new season. We’re excited to continue this partnership with Max and take our biggest swing yet for Season 5.”
Bonus: My Adventures with Superman Season 2
Max
Similarly to Harley Quinn, My Adventures with Superman Season 2 doesn’t have a specific release date yet, but seeing as how both Season 1 and Season 2 were being worked on at the same time, it is extremely likely that the latter will come out in 2024.
While not much is known about the next chapter in My Adventures with Superman, co-producer and writer Josephine Campbell teased that it will “blow people’s minds:”
“Stay tuned for Season 2. We got the the wonderful task of being able to make them both around the same time and I’m very excited for this. There’s so much stuff in Season 2 that I think is gonna blow people’s minds. So yeah, just stay tuned, keep watching.”
All in all, the world of DC is set to have another huge year in 2024 with live-action, animated, and anime TV shows all set to come out. Matt Reeves‘ The Batman universe, Max’s Harley Quinn universe, and James Gunn’s upcoming DCU will all be represented in different ways on the small screen.
Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader arrives this week, and the first reviews are starting to come in. As a game that can easily take over 100 hours to finish, many reviews are still in progress, though most critics praised how faithfully Owlcat Games captured the atmosphere of the 40K universe.
As an extensive CRPG based on a popular tabletop game, it’s inevitable that Rogue Trader has been compared to Baldur’s Gate 3 in almost every review, though not always favourably. Reviewers have said that Rogue Trader is far more crunchy and complicated than Larian’s newbie-friendly RPG, though it may still appeal to fans of Baldur’s Gate 3.
Size:
Want us to remember this setting for all your devices?
Now Playing: Warhammer 40k Rogue Trader – Companion Gameplay Trailer
The main complaint critics had about Rogue Trader was the proliferation of bugs, which will likely be mopped up by future updates after the game’s release. Some also criticized the game’s overly complicated ruleset, though some players will no doubt appreciate the system’s depth. At present, Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader has a mixed aggregate review score of 74 on GameSpot sister site Metacritic.
Check out a selection of critic reviews below.
Game: Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader
Platforms: PC, Xbox Series X|S, PS5
Developer: Owlcat Games
Release Date: December 7
Price: $40
PC Gamer — 59/100
“If you played Owlcat’s previous RPGs at launch, you’ll be familiar with the feeling you’re playing the worst version of the game. Months down the road there will be expansions that add new companions, a version of the Toy Box mod full of quality-of-life improvements, and a fleet of bug fixes … Until then, keep the parade on hold.” — Jody Macgregor [Full review]
Screen Rant — 4/5
“Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader is an excellent adaptation of the Warhammer universe into a genre that some may expect not to work. A compelling RPG with a strong understanding of its original property, it’s a great example of the classic C-RPGs of the 1990s and early 2000s. Although it perhaps does nothing revolutionary, it provides an intriguing and exciting adventure, especially for fans of the tabletop game.” — Rob Gordon [Full review]
IGN — Review in Progress
“Sitting at right around 65 hours into developer Owlcat’s impressively deep and expansive Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader, there are a few things I can proclaim with confidence: One is that this game is absolutely huge – I might only be crossing the halfway mark, based on where I am in its intricate but not too difficult-to-follow story. Another is that this is a glorious glimpse into the 40K universe, highlighting elements of it that often go underexplored and showcasing some of my personal favorite races and organizations.” — Leana Hafer [Full review]
NME — 4/5
“Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader nails the gory battles and gloomy atmosphere of its source material, but sometimes feels too big for its own good. Not everyone will enjoy Rogue Trader’s meticulous depth, but those who have the patience to trawl through bugs and over-complicated menus will be rewarded with an intergalactic epic.” — Andy Brown [Full review]
The Gamer — 4/5
“If you’re a 40K fan or just looking for a combat-heavy RPG outside of the normal fantasy fare, Rogue Trader will make a welcome addition to your library. It dives deeper into the setting and lore than any other video game to date, showing that it’s clearly a game by fans, for fans.” — Matt Arnold [Full review]
Rock Paper Shotgun — Review In Progress
“Anybody who’s in the mood for another massive RPG should definitely take an interest, pending my full review. There’s still time for things to go south, mind you. The writing has so far struck a good balance between committing to the worldbuilding, and poking fun at it, but there’s the risk of it becoming over-serious as the stakes are raised. The battle system’s complexities could prove to be inelegant and gratuitous in hindsight. The big thing, for me, is how much choice of alignment changes the story, and how much Owlcat will have to rein in the possibilities as the decisions multiply and evolve.” — Edwin Evans-Thirlwell [Full review]
The products discussed here were independently chosen by our editors.
GameSpot may get a share of the revenue if you buy anything featured on our site.
The film is a co-production between Singapore’s Hong Pictures and Bangkok-based Hollywood (Thailand). Principal photography will commence in the first quarter of 2024 with a view to releasing the film in 2025.
“Baby Hero” was launched in the presence of actors Joshua Tan, Zoen Tay, Justin Misson, Wang Weiliang, Lin Youfa and Vithaya Pansringarm, producer ‘Boy’ Watson and Singapore’s senior minister of state for communications and information Tan Kiat How.
The launch event was preceded by a celebration of casting portal I Am Casting, the brainchild of Singaporean actor and comedian Irene Ang who revealed plans to take the service global. Ang explained that the portal was for the gamut of actors across age groups, ranging from emerging stars to veterans.
Ang said that it is never too late to start as an actor. Pansringarm, 64, endorsed that view, saying that he started at the age of 50 and has worked on some 70 projects since, with directors of 18 nationalities. The actor’s credits include Dante Lam’s “Operation Mekong,” Tom Waller’s “The Last Executioner,” Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire’s “A Prayer Before Dawn” and Nicolas Winding Refn’s “Only God Forgives,” alongside Ryan Gosling and Kristin Scott Thomas.
Pansringarm said that he often gets asked to move to Los Angeles. “I do have a manager there but I feel like I want to work near my house, my home, and I consider also Singapore as part of my home, I have many close friends living here. So when I meet the team of ‘Baby Hero,’ the first thing I felt was that they really, genuinely want me to create something really special,” Pansringarm said.
NOW IN THEATERS! Ridley Scott is an unstoppable machine. He pits Sigourney Weaver against an alien in 1979, 44 years – and many classics – later, he pits Joaquin Phoenix against the world in the epic Napoleon. Choosing broad brushstrokes over intricate details, Scott and screenwriter David Scarpa attempt to condense the titular character’s entire complex life into a two-and-a-half-hour narrative. The result, while flawed, is glorious: majestic, atmospheric, visually stunning, led by two charismatic leads. Scott, at 86, shows the young ‘uns how it’s done.
The narrative begins in 1793, when a young Napoleon (Joaquin Phoenix), still an officer, observes Queen Marie Antoinette (Catherine Walker) beheaded by a guillotine. Soon, he proved himself to Paul Barras (Tahar Rahim), a politician and revolutionary leader, by fighting off the British, followed by a series of battle victories, executed with ease and finesse. Ambitious from a young age, Napoleon does not even attempt to hide his overinflated ego nor his grand aspirations.
He finds himself entranced by Joséphine de Beauharnais (Vanessa Kirby), a coquettish widow; before long, they get married. Her public infidelity drives Napoleon to abandon his troops in Egypt after winning the Battle of the Pyramids. Yet he does not divorce Joséphine – not yet, at least. Her inability to birth him an heir eventually led to the collapse of their marriage.
Scott’s film may be overstuffed and unwieldy, but it’s also never boring and unexpectedly hilarious. He and Scarpa zoom through major historical events: Napoleon’s coronation, the Battle of Austerlitz, the Battle of Borodino, the failed invasion of Russia, the battle of Waterloo, and Napoleon’s exile. Interestingly, the filmmakers focus more on the central relationship, some of the explosive film’s most powerful scenes involving the two leads quietly exploring their power dynamics, the nuances of their weirdly symbiotic relationship.
“…zoom through major historical events: Napoleon’s coronation, the Battle of Austerlitz, the Battle of Borodino, the failed invasion of Russia, the battle of Waterloo…”
Phoenix is magnetic, per usual, utterly inhabiting the central character while avoiding the pitfalls of playing a larger-than-life personality. In fact, he goes in the opposite direction, that of introspection, which renders his performance that much more enigmatic. Kirby, too, sidesteps the usual clichés of a female supporting character in a predominantly male feature, not only holding her own but forming the heart of the otherwise steely affair. Also, thank heavens they didn’t de-age them for the earlier sequences; I’d rather buy into a 49-year-old Phoenix playing a 24-year-old Napoleon than be distracted by the pixels all over his face.
The battle sequences are, of course, jaw-dropping in scope. Legendary cinematographer Dariusz Wolski’s camera glides over dark-green hills or foggy wintry terrain, eyeing the clashing armies with a perfectly calibrated balance of indifference and reverence. (One particular instance with a horse is bound to get the audience riled up.) The battle of Austerlitz, with its bombardment of a frozen lake, may mark the standout, for it’s not the exploding ice that astounds the most – it’s Bonaparte’s eyes, viewing the destruction with the mix of pride and nonchalance that Wolski captures so well.
The film explores what drove Napoleon, avoiding gimmicks or easy targets (it never even mentions his height): his ego, his love of his people and country – and, of course, Joséphine – and, well, something else, something that Phoenix leaves for interpretation. He’s both kind and heartless, devoted and self-absorbed. It’s definitely not your typical portrayal of a famous historical figure, and the better for it.
According to IMBD, the director has over 68 titles in development. The man has long since set the standard for how it’s done. He continues to challenge himself, studying fascinating historical figures, venturing into outer space, and exploring the family dynamics of a notorious fashion mogul. Gladiator 2? Bring it on.
The actress walked the red carpet at the premiere of her new film Poor Things, held at DGA Theater in New York City on Wednesday, where she spoke with ET’s Rachel Smith.
“I absolutely love it, yeah!” Qualley said, beaming. “It’s the best.”
Taylor Hill/FilmMagic
The actress and the Bleachers rocker tied the knot on Aug. 19 in New Jersey, during a star-studded affair that included Midnights songstress Taylor Swift, Channing Tatum, Zoë Kravitz, Lana Del Rey and more.
“Oh I love him!” Qualley captioned a series of pics in which she has her arms draped around Antonoff’s neck, showing off her beautiful engagement ring. The post was flooded with well wishes from Qualley’s friends and fans, with actress Dianna Agron writing, “CONGRATULATIONS.”
The couple first sparked romance rumors in August 2021 but didn’t go public with their romance until they stepped out together at the 2022 Critics’ Choice Awards. Qualley shared an intimate pic from the couple’s fashion-forward date night on Instagram at the time.
“It was just awesome to watch her,” Qualley said of working with the Oscar winner. “And I was so in and out on this movie — I just came in for a few days. So I was kind of just trying to be a sponge and soak up as much of the world and what she was doing.”
“I had a blast,” she added. “It was really fun.”
Poor Things — which also stars Mark Ruffalo, Willem Dafoe, Ramy Youssef, Christopher Abbot and Jerrod Carmichael — hits theaters Dec. 8.
Angelina Jolie, a highly accomplished actress and filmmaker, expressed her doubts about starting out as an actress in today’s Hollywood due to the expectation of being public and sharing personal details. She believes that Hollywood is not a healthy place.
Jolie’s experience living in the constant spotlight, as well as her divorce, affected her perception of Hollywood. She lost the ability to live and travel freely and seeks authenticity in her life.
Despite her reservations, Jolie enjoyed being part of the Marvel family and expressed her willingness to explore her character, Thena, further. She sees the potential to appear in other Marvel movies and is open to the idea of returning to the role in the future.
Angelina Jolie is one of the most admired and loved stars in Hollywood, having proven herself time and time again as an award-worthy actress, a director and a producer. However, in a candid interview with The Wall Street Journal, the actress shared her feelings about the entertainment industry, the broken state of Hollywood, and her beliefs that she would not consider starting out as an actress now.
Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, Jolie is the daughter of actors Jon Voight and Marcheline Bertrand, and made her name very quickly after appearing in movies such as Gia and the Oscar-winning Girl, Interrupted, which earned her a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award.
With roles such as playing Lara Croft in two Tomb Raider movies, her Best Actress Oscar-winning role in Changeling, and even dipping into the Marvel Cinematic Universe as part of the Eternals ensemble, Jolie has also achieved great acclaim as the director of In the Land of Blood and Honey, Unbroken and First They Killed My Father. Alongside her personal humanitarian efforts, Jolie has a life and career that many could only dream of…but whether she would do it all over again in today’s Hollywood is something the actress isn’t so sure of. He told the Wall Street Journal:
“I wouldn’t be an actress today. When I was starting out, it wasn’t as much of an expectation to be as public, to share so much… Because I grew up around Hollywood, I was never very impressed with it. I never bought into it as significant or important. It’s part of what happened after my divorce. I lost the ability to live and travel as freely. I will move when I can. I grew up in quite a shallow place. Of all the places in the world, Hollywood is not a healthy place. So you seek authenticity.”
Having been married to Billy Bob Thornton and Brad Pitt, Jolie knows exactly how hard it can be living in the constant spotlight, whether on or off-screen. Her comments on the state of Hollywood now speaks volumes about what up-and-coming stars in the industry have to cope with in order to make it in a place that sometimes seems to be full of as many broken dreams as fulfilled ones.
Angelina Jolie Returns to Cinemas With Maria, But Will She Return to the MCU?
Fabula
Having taken a conscious step back from the glare of Hollywood in recent years, appearing in only a few on-screen roles such as in Maleficent, a title role she will play again in a third movie, and providing the voice of Master Tigress in the Kung Fu Panda movies, Jolie is currently filming a starring role in Maria, a biopic of acclaimed opera singer Maria Callas. She is also part of Maude v Maude, an action thriller featuring Halle Berry, which has been described in the same vein as a James Bond blockbuster.
Of course, there is then her Marvel role of Thena in Eternals to consider. The post-credits scene of the 2021 movie teased the arrival of Harry Styles as Starfox, and the expectation that Jolie and her fellow costars would return in the future. So far, there have been no firm plans revealed for Eternals, which did not fare too well with critics and, thanks to the Covid pandemic, did not get a good run at the box office. However, shortly after the movie’s release, Jolie herself explained that she would be happy to return to her Marvel “family” again.
“I loved being part of the family, so I have no desire to separate from the family, but I would be happy to play her again and explore even more deeply the struggles that she has. I think it’s fun thinking of where they’ve been over the years. We’ve got thousands of years worth of material. We can take her anywhere. I think that’s fun and I like the idea that we can pop up somewhere, maybe in other Marvel movies.”
Whether this still holds true is something that we may not find out anytime soon with Marvel Studios pulling back production a little to concentrate one bringing back the quality that led to Avengers: Endgame’s success. However, it seems likely that we will see the Eternals make a return in the future, and hopefully, Jolie will be back onboard as Thena when they do.
Japanese distributor Bitters End has confirmed it will bow Christopher Nolan’s biopic in local cinemas next year, though it did not set a specific release date.
In a statement, Bitters End said it had made the decision after screening the film and “following months of thoughtful dialogue associated with the subject matter and acknowledging the particular sensitivity for us Japanese.”
With his biopic about the brilliant physicist who led the Manhattan Project that built the atomic bomb, Nolan had “created a singular cinematic experience that transcends traditional storytelling and must be seen on the big screen,” the company said. “We invite the audience to watch the film with their own eyes when it comes to Japan.”
Oppenheimer, a Universal release, starring Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr. and Florence Pugh, has been a phenomenal critical and commercial success, grossing more than $950 million worldwide and is a frontrunner for next year’s Oscars. But the subject matter has meant the film was always highly controversial in Japan.
This summer, Warner Bros. Japan was forced to apologize after Warners’ U.S. Twitter account posted memes featuring mashups of Warners’ Barbie with Nolan’s Oppenheimer film, something many Japanese took to be making light of the more than 200,000 killed in the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The phrase #NoBarbenheimer trended in Japan and it was not clear whether Oppenheimer would get a local release.
Nolan has defended his choice to not explicitly depict the bombings and the Japanese victims, arguing his film is on told subjectively from Oppenheimer’s point of view and that the physicist never witnessed the devastation he helped bring about. “He learned about the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on the radio — the same as the rest of the world,” Nolan told NBC.
This isn’t the first Universal title Bitters End has released in Japan, having previously handled the local bow of Joe Wright’s Churchill biopic Darkest Hour and Paul Thomas Anderson’s 70s dramedy Licorice Pizza.
Say Anything have announced a 2024 tour to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their debut album, …Is a Real Boy. The record, which includes the single “Alive with the Glory of Love,” is considered a classic from the 2000s era of pop-punk. Find their full list of tour dates below.
The 20th anniversary tour kicks off on April 27 in Dallas, Texas and brings Say Anything across various cities in the U.S., including Atlanta, Philadelphia, Brooklyn, Chicago, Nashville, Seattle, and Los Angeles. The run will conclude on June 28 in Austin, Texas.
In 2019, bandleader Max Bemix said that Say Anything was “retiring.” However, they released the single “Psyche!” back in April, marking their first new material since Say Anything put out the album Oliver Appropriate in 2019, and performed a handful of shows throughout the year.
All products featured on Pitchfork are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Say Anything: …Is a Real Boy 20th Anniversary Tour
Say Anything:
04-27 Dallas, TX – House of Blues 04-28 Houston, TX – House of Blues 04-30 Atlanta, GA – The Eastern 05-01 Orlando, FL – Hard Rock Live 05-03 Raleigh, NC – The Ritz 05-04 Philadelphia, PA – The Fillmore 05-05 Silver Spring, MD – The Fillmore 05-07 Columbus, OH – KEMBA Live! 05-08 Pittsburgh, PA – Stage AE 05-10 Brooklyn, NY – Brooklyn Paramount Theatre 05-11 Montclair, NJ – The Wellmont Theater 05-12 Boston, MA – MGM Music Hall at Fenway 05-14 Cleveland, OH – House of Blues 05-15 Royal Oak, MI – Royal Oak Music Theatre 05-17 Chicago, IL – Aragon Ballroom 05-18 St. Louis, MO – The Pageant 05-19 Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium 06-13 Kansas City, MO – Uptown Theater 06-14 Denver, CO – Fillmore Auditorium 06-15 Salt Lake City, UT – The Depot 06-17 Seattle, WA – Showbox SoDo 06-18 Portland, OR – Revolution Hall 06-21 San Francisco, CA – The Masonic 06-22 Los Angeles, CA – The Wiltern Theatre 06-24 Anaheim, CA – House of Blues 06-26 Phoenix, AZ – The Van Buren 06-28 Austin, TX – Stubb’s
Let’s face it, there isn’t a cooler-sounding job in the world than a motorcycle stunt performer. While it’s a high-stakes job, there is also often a high payoff, and it can be a lot of fun when you’re a professional who is also a bit of an adrenaline junkie.
But, as a stunt performer, safety should always be your top priority. So, whether you’re just getting started in the industry or you’ve been at it for years, taking a look at your wardrobe is a great place to start when it comes to making sure you have the essentials that will keep you as safe as possible while allowing you to perform your daring motorcycle sequences with ease.
The choices and considerations stunt performers make when it comes to their wardrobe should be a combination of safe and stylish. If you’re a motorcycle stunt performer who hasn’t given your wardrobe much thought in the past, take a second look in your closet, and you might consider making some different clothing choices.
The Beginning Gear Everyone Needs
If you’re just starting out as a stunt performer, one of the easiest ways to make sure you have the right gear is to go back to basics. Some of the most common motorcycle gear beginners should invest in include:
A helmet
A jacket
Boots
Gloves
Pants
At the end of the day, if you’re just casually riding, these pieces will be enough to keep you protected. But, stunt riders typically aren’t just cruising for fun. Motorcycle stunt riders have to go at dangerous speeds, make daring leaps, and sometimes even crash on purpose or race through frightening elements like fire or extreme weather.
It’s not safe to assume that the filmmakers you’re working with will know everything about keeping you safe, especially if they’re new to the game, too. While safety on set is always important, it’s up to you to make sure you’re personally protected and you have the right gear for the job. So, once you have the basics covered, consider what else might be needed to keep you safe during your next stunt.
Choose Quality Every Time
As a stunt performer, your life is on the line every time you go to work. So, when you’re deciding on the right safety gear to wear during your stunts, consider the kind of price you’re willing to pay for your well-being.
Simply put, you should be investing in quality gear every time.
For example, you should consider investing in quality boots, jeans, and jackets, as these items will last for years, especially when you take care of them. They might be a bit pricier, but they are designed to endure tough conditions. Pay attention to materials when it comes to what you’re buying. Things like genuine leather are made to last and tend to be “on brand” for most motorcyclists. It also pays to go with trustworthy brand names that have proven themselves over the years, like Carhartt or Ariat.
Some film sets might be specific about the type of clothing you wear while performing your stunts. You might be filling in for an actor or the movie itself might have a certain look they’re going for. But, whatever the wardrobe calls for, don’t compromise on quality. Even if you have to wear your protective gear underneath other clothes, it’s a worthwhile investment that could end up saving your life and preventing serious injuries.
The Personal Payoff of Stunt Performing
Thinking about protective gear while stunt performing might seem a bit obvious. But, if you’ve been at it a while or you’re new to the scene, it’s easy to forget what’s actually needed to stay safe. It’s even easier to get cocky or to assume you don’t need all of the gear you once did when you didn’t have as much experience.
There are plenty of payoffs to being a stunt performer. The pay is often great. You get to do something you love. And you get to enjoy the natural benefits of riding a motorcycle. Things like reduced stress and better physical health from the strength and control it takes to drive. But, it’s important to make sure those benefits don’t cloud the risks involved with this kind of career. You have to know how your motorcycle behaves, especially when you’re filming a scene, so you don’t end up making a harmful mistake.
Even if you feel like you know the ins and outs of every scene and how your motorcycle tends to ride, your life isn’t worth a cool shot. Never neglect safety when it comes to stunt performances. While there are plenty more things to consider and more gear you might need to keep yourself safe when you’re working, starting with your stunt wardrobe is easy and more effective than you might realize. Take the time to invest in high-quality gear designed to keep you safe from head to toe. Not only will it make you a more confident rider, but it will allow you to perform the most daring of stunts with less risk and more rewards.
Did you know?
Amanda Winstead is a writer from the Portland area with a background in communications and a passion for telling stories. Along with writing she enjoys traveling, reading, working out, and going to concerts. If you want to follow her writing journey, or even just say hi you can find her on Twitter.
The Seychelles declared a state of emergency on Thursday after a blast at an explosives store, following destructive floods from the recent heavy rains in the East African nation.
The explosion, which took place in an industrial area called Providence on Mahé Island off the eastern coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean, “has caused massive damage,” the president’s office said in a statement. Most of the nation’s residents live on Mahé Island.
The Civil Construction Company, where the office said the blast happened, has supplied crusher and quarry products to the construction industry since 1998, according to the company’s website.
Following the explosion, Seychelles authorities closed all schools and asked residents to stay at home, except for emergency and essential workers.
The Seychelles, which comprises about 115 tropical islands, is home to about 100,000 people.
The authorities in the Seychelles, a popular tourist destination, said that the Seychelles International Airport and ferry services between islands remained in operation.
Ava DuVernay’s “Origin” isn’t in theaters yet, but the attendees at TheWrap’s Power Women Summit were treated to a live performance of the song “I Am” from the film, performed by Māori artist Stan Walker.
“I want to introduce you to an artist who I’ve come to truly love and feel connected to personally,” the filmmaker said before Walker took the stage on Tuesday.
DuVernay recalled how she was blown away by Walker’s cover of Kanye West’s “Ultralight Beam” and tracked him down thousands of miles away in his native New Zealand via their sole mutual contact on Instagram.
The rest, as they say, was history. Walker screened “Origin” and turned around “I Am” two and a half weeks later in a collaboration with music producer Michael Fatkin.
“This is really buzzy — we say buzzy,” Walker recalled to TheWrap after getting in touch with DuVernay. “I was obviously shocked, but I just felt super privileged and blessed because I was ready for something like this. As a storyteller, I’m ready for something like this. I’m ready. And when when she sent me the film to watch, this was my response to it.”
The chorus contains lyrics in Māori and references the place where the Māori people believe they are created from.
“I Am” also is a form of reclamation. “My hope was that [my] people would know that their superpower is the very thing that colonization [is] trying to take away: from our language and our culture, our history, our stories, our own narratives,” the indigenous Polynesian performer added.
“I have not felt this way about a song since the first time I heard ‘Glory’ by John Legend for my film ‘Selma,’” DuVernay gushed. “I was so pleased and so blessed that somehow the universe brought us together, that this song ends the work in ‘Origin’ that we spent two years building.”
Listen to “I Am” above and check out “Origin” when it opens in limited release on Dec. 8 or when it opens wide on Jan. 19.
For all of TheWrap’s Power Women Summit 2023 coverage, click here.
In their last, desperate chance to make any kind of mark with party members before the Iowa caucuses, the four top GOP candidates not named Donald Trump met for a fourth Republican primary debate Wednesday defined largely by dueling insults that were often strikingly personal.
Trump is of course far and away the front-runner for the 2024 GOP nomination, and has refused to participate in these primaries. But hope — and bitter emnity — springs eternal among the people likely to lose to him in just a few short weeks. Which may explain why only one of them, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, was willing to criticize the former president in specific terms.
Sponsored by NewsNation network at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, the event was moderated by ex-Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly, Elizabeth Vargas of NewsNation and Eliana Johnson of the Washington Free Beacon.
Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and billionaire businessman Vivek Ramaswamy stepped up their ongoing feud, with Ramaswamy calling her a “fascist” and at one point held up a sign during the debate that read Nikki = Corrupt, as he hammered the theme that she and the other candidates are bought and paid for by corporate donors.
Haley held back personal comments, a departure from the last debate when she said “you’re just scum” to Ramaswamy when he called her hypocritical for slamming the TikTok social media platform while her daughter uses the app.
At one point, Ramaswamy said “I question her authenticity,” then ratcheted up the gender war between the two, stemming from her accusation against him of being misogynistic.
“She said I have a woman problem. Nikki, I don’t have a woman problem. You have a corruption problem and I think that’s what people need to know. Nikki is corrupt,” Ramaswamy said, repeating his criticism of her profiting from working for defense contractor Boeing Corporation and big-money donations to her campaign.
When Haley was offered the chance to respond, she smiled and said it’s “not worth my time” to respond to Ramswamy.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis joined his fellow Harvard alumnus Ramaswamy in bashing Haley’s courage and leadership, saying “she caves anytime the left comes after her and any time the media comes after her.”
Haley shrugged off the barbs and appreciated the two men giving her more air time.
“I love all the attention, fellas. Thank you for that,” Haley said with a smile, before she seriously addressed the leadership question
“I have been a conservative fighter all my life. I was a tea party candidate when I ran for governor of South Carolina,” Haley said.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie was the toughest on former Pres. Donald Trump for not participating in debates and swamped with legal troubles. Christie said a second Trump presidency would be dangerous for America, since Trump will use presidential power to settle scores with his political enemies.
“This is an angry, bitter man,” Christie said, adding that the other candidates have been too soft on Trump, while “pretending he is a victim empowers him.”
While Ramaswamy and DeSantis took turns trashing Haley, Christie came to his fellow former governor’s defense when Ramaswamy dismissed her experience at the U.N.
“This is a smart, accomplished woman, and you should stop insulting her,” Christie said
Ramaswamy did not head the advice, and said the party and country need more foreign policy “wisdom” than what he sees in Haley and Christie, and added that their unwavering support of Ukraine could end up getting American soldiers killed.
Old school Republicans like Haley and Christie “want to send your sons and daughters to die in Ukraine,” Ramaswamy said, then challenged them to name the provinces in Ukraine where they would send American soldiers.
Christie shot back at Ramaswamy’s dismissal of his experience, noting that he was the U.S. Attorney for New Jersey during the 911 attacks, while Ramaswamy “was learning about the provinces in Ukraine, sitting with his smart-ass mouth at Harvard.” He added that Ramaswamy an “obnoxious blowhard.”
Ramaswamy doubled down, saying Christie and Haley will repeat foreign war policies from the George W. Bush/Dick Cheney administration, replacing Iraq and Afghanistan with Ukraine.
“You can put lipstick on a Dick Cheney, and it’s still a fascist neocon,” Ramaswamy said, pointing at Haley. “This is a woman who will send your kids to die so she can buy a bigger house.”
DeSantis stayed out of most of the personal attacks, other than accusing Haley of “caving” to corporate donors. But he did hammer one of his staples, that the United States needs “a wall” on its southern border, along with a serious military presence, “to stop cartels from smuggling fentanyl across the border.”
EXCLUSIVE: Drake Rodger (The Winchesters), Johnna Dias-Watson (Wednesday), Josh Macqueen (Significant Others) and Mia Healey (The Wilds) are set as recurring guest stars of the Prime Video series Motorheads from writer/showrunner John A. Norris.
Rodger has been cast as Ray, Curtis’ charismatic (Uriah Shelton) brother who seems like a good guy but isn’t afraid to be on the wrong side of the law. He has a scary side that isn’t seen often, but when it is, it’s chilling. Dias-Watson has been cast as Kiara, the daughter of the town’s mayor who is torn between the popular crowd and her new friends. Macqueen has been cast as Harris, the entitled, popular high school alpha dog whose powerful family owns most of the businesses in Ironwood. He’s the formidable champion of the local street racing scene. Healey has been cast as Alicia, the daughter of a tech company founder who finds herself entangled in the shifting dynamics of the old town and the allure of what’s new.
Earlier today, Deadline exclusively revealed Uriah Shelton joined as a series regular opposite Ryan Phillippe, Nathalie Kelley, Michael Cimino and Melissa Collazo.
Motorheads is about first love, first heartbreak, and turning the key in your very first car. Set in a once-thriving rust-belt town that’s now searching for a glimmer of hope, the series is the adrenaline-filled story of a group of outsiders who form an unlikely friendship over a mutual love of automobiles. And while some characters will be navigating the hierarchy and rules of high school, others will be racing from a dark past.
Norris executive produces alongside Jason Seagraves, Jake Fuller on behalf of Jax Media, Dana Brunetti and Keegan Rosenberger. Ruben Fleischer is attached to direct the pilot and Ryan Zaragoza will serve as co-executive producer. Jax Media and Amazon MGM Studios produce the series.
Rodger is repped by Gersh and Impact Artists Group; Dias-Watson is represented by United Agents, Authentic and Green Management; Macqueen is repped by Anonymous Content, RGM and GGSSC; Healey is represented by CBM Management in Australia and with AFA Prime Talent in Los Angeles.
Tamil Nadu govt has asked for Rs 5,060 crore relief fund from the Centre.
In the wake of Cyclone Michaung, the Tamil Nadu School Education Department has decided to postpone the half-yearly exams for students in affected areas.
Floods caused due to Cyclone Michaung have wreaked havoc in various areas of Tamil Nadu, leading to disruptions in daily life, casualties and property damage. In response to the crisis, actor Thalapathy Vijay has urged his fan club “Vijay Makkal lyakkam” on Instagram to collaborate with government authorities in providing relief efforts.
He penned a note on his Instagram, “Due to the heavy rains of Cyclone Michuang in Chennai and its suburbs, the public including children, women and the elderly are suffering a lot. There are reports that thousands of people are suffering without water, food and adequate basic facilities. There are still many voices on social media asking for help to rescue from the flooded area”, highlighting the urgency of rescue efforts in the inundated areas.
“I request people of welfare club members to volunteer to help those in need to what extent they can in the rescue missions undertaken by the government. Let us join hands to remove grief,” he added.
Even the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin assessed the impact of Cyclone Michaung in Chennai. Prime Minister Narendra Modi conveyed condolences to the families mourning the loss of their loved ones due to the cyclone. Tamil Nadu government has formally requested an urgent interim relief fund of Rs 5,060 crore from the Central government.
In the wake of Cyclone Michaung, the Tamil Nadu School Education Department has decided to postpone the half-yearly exams for students in affected areas. The state government has rescheduled exams in Chennai, Chengalpattu, Thiruvallur and Kanchipuram districts. School principals in these regions are entrusted with organising examinations according to the recovery status of their areas, and they are directed to offer diverse question papers.
The half-yearly exams are scheduled to commence today, December 7, in the unaffected districts of the state. For students in classes 11 and 12, the Tamil Nadu board half-yearly exams are set to take place from December 7 to December 22. Examinations for Classes 11 and 12, organised by the Directorate, will be conducted in two sessions: 9:45 am-2:45 pm and 1:30 pm-4:30 pm respectively.
Entertainment Bureau brings you all updates from the world of entertainment — breaking news, Twitter trends, features, movie reviews, exclusive inter…Read More
Before the advent of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), superhero films tended to be self-contained stories featuring characters that audiences may or may not have already been familiar with.
While entities like the X-Men series highlighted some of the more popular Marvel characters, there was also a smorgasbord of films based on lesser-known properties. For example, in the ten years before the debut of Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man, superhero films based on The Punisher,Blade, and Ghost Rider were all released.
Photo: Collider
While they would pale in comparison to the unprecedented success of the MCU, all three film series reached various levels of success.
Could We See More Pre-MCU Heroes Enter the Fold?
Following the introduction of Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Men into the MCU for Spider-Man: No Way Home and the announcement that Hugh Jackman would reprise his role as Wolverine for Deadpool 3, the idea of seeing the pre-MCU superheroes on screen again suddenly seemed not just possible, but likely.
Two Spider-Men. Photo: Marvel
The Return of Ghost Rider?
Of all the pre-MCU heroes, the character most often speculated to return is Nicholas Cage’s Ghost Rider.
Nic Cage as Ghost Rider. Photo: Marvel
Cage originated the role of Johnny Blaze for 2007’s Ghost Rider. The film was derided by critics but proved to be a financial success. While a follow-up film, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, was similarly panned, the series would grow a cult following and continue to make money.
Photo: Marvel
Ever since the advent of the MCU’s multiversal saga, speculation has run rampant that Cage could reprise his role as Ghost Rider, perhaps in Avengers: Secret Wars.
Nic Cage Chimes In
While Cage has previously dismissed the idea of reprising his Ghost Rider role, in a recent interview with Uproxx, the actor seemed more open to returning.
Photo: Jun Sato/Contributor/Getty Images
Although Cage says he will act in fewer movies going forward, he revealed that he would have a tough time saying no to something that he “thought had some pop to it, some spark to it, that maybe could be fun for folks to revisit, like a Face/Off 2 or Ghost Rider.”
Photo: Marvel
The fact that Cage offered up Ghost Rider as a role that he would return to would seemingly indicate his genuine interest. With Secret Wars still on the horizon, we may soon see another pre-MCU hero enter the fold.
Thanks for visiting MickeyBlog.com! Want to go to Disney? For a FREE quote on your next Disney vacation, please fill out the form below. One of the agents from MickeyTravels, a Diamond-Level Authorized Disney Vacation Planner, will be in touch soon! Also, thanks for reading!
It’s been years since Mad Max: Fury Roadrevived the iconic franchise, with Tom Hardy taking on the role Mel Gibson played so long ago. Due to the film’s massive critical and commercial success and its sweep at the Academy Awards that year, some speculated that Hardy’s films would spawn a franchise of its own. Finally, that post-apocalyptic cinematic universe will expand with a prequel film, officially titled Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, based on the character Imperator Furiosa, portrayed by Charlize Theron in the 2015 film.
While the early films have always had the eponymous Max Rockatansky as the protagonist, Furiosa will be the first film in the franchise to feature a story told from a different character’s perspective. The prequel is being written and directed by the talented George Miller, with Nick Lathouris taking on the role of co-writer. Here’s everything we know about the upcoming Mad Max: Fury Road prequel, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.
Update December 6, 2023: If you’re looking for more information about Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, you’ll be happy to know that this article has been updated by Jessica Peerez with more information relating to the recently released trailer, plot, and cast, and release date of the film.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga: The Plot
Warner Bros. Pictures
It has been confirmed that the plot of Furiosa will center on Imperator Furiosa’s past and chronicle her journey to becoming the Imperator that viewers are now familiar with. The film will follow her Furiosa as she is separated from her family, taken from the Green Place of Many Mothers, and thrust into an unfamiliar environment, detailing her struggles throughout. The prequel is set to bring Furiosa’s life before she meets Max Rockatansky to screens, revealing how she became the strong-willed, feminist hero that viewers encounter in Fury Road.
Imperator Furiosa was a fresh character George Miller introduced in Fury Road, and she hadn’t appeared in the Mel Gibson films from the ’80s. Played by Charlize Theron, Furiosa handles logistics for Immortan Joe and is his true confidante. She is entrusted with a powerful, armored war rig and commands a small force of Joe’s War Boys. However, when she is sent off to ferry oil back from Gas Town, she betrays Immortan Joe. She decides to save Joe’s concubines and search for Green Place, a fable she remembers from her childhood. The story of Fury Road revolves around her alliance with Max as they struggle to defeat Immortan Joe and escape with his concubines to Green Place.
The official trailer for Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, released by Warner Bros. Pictures on December 1, 2023, reveals more details regarding the direction of the film. Confirming its focus on Furiosa’s origin story, the trailer reads, “46 years after the collapse, a young Furiosa is taken from her family. She will devote the rest of her life to finding her way home. This is her odyssey.”
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga: The Cast & Crew
As the film is a prequel, Miller had considered using the de-aging technology with Theron essaying the role of a 20-year-old Furiosa. The idea was to have Theron reprise her role in a digitally de-aged appearance, just like Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, and Joe Pesci did for Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman. However, Miller eventually dropped the idea and decided to recast the role with a younger actress.
The cast of Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga now has a noteworthy combination of talent. The extremely skilled Anya Taylor-Joy will take on the titular role of the young Furiosa. Taylor-Joy has received notable acclaim for her roles in Autumn de Wilde’s Emma and the Netflix hit The Queen’s Gambit. She also won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film and a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie.
Other names in the cast of Furiosa include Chris Hemsworth, famously known for his role as Thor in the MCU. Hemsworth will portray the film’s primary antagonist, Warlord Dementus. Tom Burke will also take on a character in the film, although the actor’s exact role is not known at the time of writing. Alyla Browne and Quaden Bayles, who will be making their acting debut, will also be starring in the film. Emmy-winning Yahhya Abdul-Mateen II was also attached to the cast. However, he later left his role due to scheduling conflicts.
In addition to the new faces in the cast, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga will also bring back a few familiar faces. Fury Road‘s Nathan Jones and Angus Sampson will be reprising their roles in the prequel, with Jones coming back to screens as Rictus Erectus and Sampson starring once again as Organic Mechanic. In addition, a younger version of Immortan Joe will appear but it is unknown who will play the character.
Furiosa: Where Does It Fall in the Mad Max Timeline?
Warner Bros. Pictures
The timeline of Mad Max films has been under constant debate. Since there was a considerable gap between the release dates of Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome and Fury Road, there is no telling how these films are interconnected. Fury Road is mostly considered to be a sequel in that franchise. Given that Max is depicted as a bit jaded and weary in Fury Road compared to its predecessor, one can argue that the film might take place in the later years of Max’s life; however, it can’t be definitively confirmed.
Furiosa would be on the same timeline as Fury Road. It is a direct prequel to the film, and the character Imperator Furiosa was not a part of Mel Gibson’s Mad Max Trilogy. Therefore, whatever connection it establishes would directly refer to the events of Fury Road. However, if we assume that all these films are part of the same continuity, and since Miller has created an extensive backstory for Furiosa’s character, we can hope for some references to the original films of the franchise. It is expected to span several years, which may clear up the state of events in that post-apocalyptic world.
Release Date
Warner Bros. Pictures
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga‘s release date is set far in the future, much like its story. The current release date is May 24, 2024, in time for Memorial Day weekend. The film will share its release with the much-awaited Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes from 20th Century Pictures and the animated Garfield reboot from Sony Pictures.
The film will have an exclusive theatrical release, similar to the previous movies, and also have an IMAX release. Furiosa will most likely head to Max (the streaming service, not the character) after exhausting its theatrical run.
There we have it, an early Christmas present for Grand Theft Auto fans worldwide. Despite GTA 6’s Trailer 1’s debut date set for December 5, 2023, Rockstar pushed it out early after it leaked on Twitter – and it even got a release window.
The developer posted the 90-second trailer on its official YouTube channel. It’s filled with action, as you’d expect, and is paired with the 1989 song, “Love Is A Long Road” by Tom Petty, which really is a great fit for a GTA if you ask me. It puts me right back in GTA Vice City vibe, where I want to be.
It starts out with the first female protagonist in the series’ history, Lucia, in a correctional facility (where else have we seen this cliche?). It quickly pans out to lovely Miami-like beaches, before showing swamps full of flamingos, and then flicks back to show the wild Miami nightlife. And just when I thought I’d seen everything, there were crocodiles. Wild crocodiles. Many crocodiles. GTA 6 really does try to emulate Florida.
However, if you were looking for a 100% 80s vibe, you might be in for a small letdown because this will be modern-day Florida, with the inescapable influence of social media on the lives of the people in GTA 6.
The scene ends with a “Bonnie and Clyde” style gas station robbery and the announcement that the next Grand Theft Auto game is coming in 2025. Given that it’s the end of 2023, we’ve got a minimum of one year left before GTA 6 hits the physical and virtual shelves worldwide.
Calling it now: GTA 6 is the most popular game release ever.
Nikola has been a Staff Writer at Prima Games since May 2022. He has been gaming since being able to hold an Amiga 500 joystick on his own, back in the early 90s (when gaming was good). Nikola has helped organize dozens of gaming events and tournaments and has been professionally attached to gaming since 2009. His current favorite titles are Vampire Survivors, CS2, Legion TD 2, Below the Stone, Brotato, Power Chord, and Halls of Torment
If you were going to bet on an original movie to be a box-office hit, what genre would you pick? The truth is, there is only one genre that again and again provides hits across both film and television. It’s horror.
Even before Jason Blum became one of the most powerful producers in Hollywood, horror has been a valuable bet. Alfred Hitchcock dabbled in the darkness with Psycho, but prior to Norman Bates, we had the Universal monster movies and things like The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.
The horror subgenres are aplenty, and we’ll get to them later.
Horror has been around since someone could hold a movie camera. And it’s not just on the big screen. We also had shows like The Twilight Zone and Tales from the Crypt scaring our pants off at home.
So today I want to look at the horror genre in movies and television. We’ll explore examples, look at current things on the air and in theaters, and talk about why these stories continue to terrify and entertain us.
‘The Babadook’Credit: Entertainment One/Umbrella Entertainment
The Horror Genre Definition
Horror is a genre of film and television whose purpose is to create feelings of fear, dread, disgust, and terror in the audience. The primary goal is to develop an atmosphere that puts the audience on edge and scares them.
Where does the word “horror” come from?
The term actually came from the Old French word “orror,” which meant “to shudder or to bristle.”
Horror filmmaking has roots in religions across the world, local folktales, and history. It’s a universal genre. Every culture has its scary stories and fears. These elements are meant to exploit the viewer and engage them with the possibility of death and pain.
Most importantly, to be a true horror project, your story should deal in the supernatural. Death, evil, powers, creatures, the afterlife, witchcraft, and other diabolical and unexplainable happenings must be at the story’s center.
There is some debate over whether this stuff needs to be supernatural to divide horror from thriller… but we will let you work that out in the comments.
Credit: British Lion Films
Creeping Around the Horror Genre in Movies and TV
Ghouls, ghosts, slashers, creatures, and gore. Horror film and television focus on adrenaline rides for the audience that dial up the blood, scares, and creative monsters. Horror is always re-inventing old classics, like adding fast zombies and CGI creatures. It also is seen as the most bankable genre with a huge built-in audience.
Horror movies and shows consistently do well.
They have passionate fans, launch successful franchises, and get people excited.
The History of Horror in Film and TV
Even before the earliest cameras were made, people were telling spooky stories.
What was the first horror movie ever? Well, as far as we know, the first horror movie was made by French filmmaker Georges Melies, and was titled Le Manoir Du Diable (AKA The Devil’s Castle/The Haunted Castle). It was made in 1896 and was only about two minutes long.
What’s striking to me is that even then, we had certain tropes. That movie contained a flying bat, a medieval castle, a cauldron, a demon figure, and skeletons, ghosts, and witches. There was even a crucifix to destroy the evil.
These kinds of movies and TV shows were initially inspired by literature from authors such as Edgar Allan Poe, Bram Stoker, and Mary Shelley.
Horror has existed as a film genre for more than a century. And things keep changing with the times.
Horror films often reflect where we are as a society and are a good way to track progress and social consciousness.
Check out the infographic below that shows the evolution of the horror film and TV shows.
Horror has come a long way as a genre.Credit: CNN
Tropes and Expectations
The final girl, the “not dead yet” scare, and the dystopian endings.
Horror is famous for having story beats that we come to expect, like jumpscares. Filmmakers must lean into them, but also find ways to subvert. You have subsets of these tropes like haunted houses, slashers, zombies, evil creatures, and others. Each comes with a set of rules.
Scream famously subverts many of these tropes by making its characters aware of them, in a meta sense. This keeps the audience on the edge of their seat. Anyone could die in this world, and anyone could be the killer.
Another film that subverts slasher tropes is Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon. In it, characters address things like the apparent superpowers slashers have. How do they always seem to be one step behind the heroine? It makes for a very different kind of horror film.
Credit: Anchor Bay Entertainment
Elements of Horror
People go to these movies and shows because they want to feel their heart beating out of control. They want the scare, but also the relief and enjoyment that comes after.
Horror is such a malleable genre that you can mash it up with almost anything. There are subgenres that involve different kinds of monsters, and there are subgenres that pull in other elements. You can see movies and shows that involve comedy, body, folk history, found footage, Gothic elements, natural elements, slasher, teen, psychological, gore, and many others I’m sure you’ll tell me about in the comments.
Here’s what you really need to know. There are four main horror areas: Killers, Monsters, Paranormal, and Psychological Horror.
Everything else kind of fits underneath them.
A list of the many subgenres in horror film and TV shows.Credit: Horror Screen
What are Horror Genre Characteristics?
Horror film and TV shows are designed to frighten and panic audiences. You want people leaving theaters or hiding while watching shows because you’ve invoked our hidden worst fears, often in a terrifying, shocking finale.
The AMC site defines horror as, “Whatever dark, primitive, and revolting traits that simultaneously attract and repel us are featured in the horror genre. Horror films are often combined with science fiction when the menace or monster is related to a corruption of technology, or when Earth is threatened by aliens. The fantasy and supernatural film genres are not synonymous with the horror genre, although thriller films may have some relation when they focus on the revolting and horrible acts of the killer/madman. Horror films are also known as chillers, scary movies, spookfests, and the macabre.”
Examples of the Horror Genre in Movies and TV
When we look at movies and TV show within this genre it’s hard to narrow down the perfect list of examples. There are so many horror moves and TV shows to pick from, but I wanted to highlight a few here.
I think these are shows and films that you can classify as straight horror, no mashups.
First, Netflix just dropped The Haunting of Bly Manor, a spiritual sequel to their The Haunting of Hill House. From the mind of Mike Flanagan, it takes typical haunted house stories and turns them into a series.
Credit: Netflix
The Haunting universe works because it develops its characters thoroughly and makes us feel horror on an emotional level, as well as a traditional level. The first season was about the horror a family experiences after a suicide. The second season followed characters feeling the horror of falling in and out of love.
Overall, horror on TV is hard, because you have to develop it in multiple episodes. Usually, mashups work best here, so there’s more to talk about. Something like Lovecraft Country excels by using every episode to dig deeper into the horrors of Lovecraft.
When it comes to the cinema, there are thousands I can pick from.
We have horror adaptations like The Shining, or from Mike Flanagan again… Doctor Sleep.
Credit: Warner Bros.
I think Hitchcock’s Psycho was so important to the jumps and scares we see today. Or a slow burn like The Sixth Sense, which rocketed the genre forward and helped it be taken seriously again. That hadn’t really happened since The Exorcist.
How about Mary Harron‘s take on the dark underbelly of corporate America in American Psycho? There is a wealth of fresh perspectives to be found in the work of horror directors like Karyn Kusama, Coralie Fargeat, and Jennifer Kent.
Of course, we can look at franchises like Nightmare on Elm Street and Scream and even The Conjuring and see how horror takes off and becomes part of the cultural lexicon.
Movies and shows like this take off because audiences cannot get enough of the thrills and chills. Whether it’s the spooky season or now, horror can take over and keep people on edge. You can release these movies around any time of year, and they can be a hit.
You can put them on streamers and find their audience.
And you can mash them up with every other genre and create something new and exciting.
Mash-up Potential for the Horror Genre
Some subgenres of horror film include comedy horror, folk horror, body horror, found footage, holiday horror, psychological horror, science fiction horror, slasher, supernatural horror, Gothic horror, natural horror, zombie horror, and teen horror.
These all open you up to mashing up other genres with horror. Creative mixes help capture the horror audience and put a spin on the tropes.
Think about movies like The Mummy, which adds adventure. Or even something like Shaun of the Dead, which adds comedy.
Or what about a show like Dexter? Police procedural meets serial killer.
Credit: Showtime
Summing up the Horror Genre in Movies and TV
It’s hard to look at a genre like this and not feel the awe of human terror. We have so many things we are afraid of, and we put them all out into the open for audiences to relate to. Horror is evolving as more and more people get voices.
We read and see new stories every day. Horror is one of our most interesting genres because it continues to change with the times. It’s always in flux, and it’s always going to be with us.
From the works of Jordan Peele to a movie like Promising Young Woman, horror allows you to get something off your chest and find audiences who relate. So what do you have to say? And can you say it with blood spatter?
Horror might be for you.
Film and TV genres affect who watches your work, how it’s classified, and even how it’s reviewed. So how do you decide what you’re writing? And which genres to mash-up? The secret is in the tropes.
Click the link to learn more!
Dig this spooky post? Then check out the rest of our Horror Week coverage for more tips, tricks, and terrifying takes.
The day after Norman Lear’s death, his friend and mentee, director Rob Reiner, spoke to MSNBC’s Chris Hayes about the legacy of the man he called “my second father.”
Noting Lear’s heroic service during the second world war as well as his lifetime of political activism and the kinds of groundbreaking television shows he created, Reiner said that Lear “fought his entire life, for democracy and against fascism.”
You can watch Reiner’s entire conversation with Hayes at the top of the page now.
Reiner, of course, had his career breakthrough co-starring in Lear’s groundbreaking sitcom, the political satire “All in the Family” from the show’s debut in 1971 until he left in 1978, and he continued to work with Lear for decades after. And as he’s said many times, Reiner regarded Lear in almost the same regard as he does his own father, the comedy legend Karl Reiner.
After being introduced by Hayes, Reiner told him, “I was very lucky to have two men in my life that were great role models. Norman showed me how you could use your celebrity, use your fame to advance issues that you cared about. I mean, I I learned from him when he started People for the American Way, that you could accomplish a lot by using your platform and so I miss him already. I love him.”
“I’ve known him since I’m a little kid,” Reiner continued, “and I’m glad to be able to come on your show to talk about him because, you know, this is a man who flew 57 bombing missions over Nazi Germany in the Second World War. He fought his entire life, for democracy and against fascism.”
Reiner linked that fight to America’s current political situation, telling Hayes that he and Lear “had so many conversations recently, in the last couple of months, that he couldn’t recognize the country that he fought for so hard. And we now see ourselves on the verge of maybe slipping into fascism. And it’s just, you know, you can’t wrap your head around [it].”
Reiner was of course talking about Donald Trump. And the “This Is Spinal Tap” director noted that Lear recently compared Trump to Archie Bunker, the main character of “All in the Family,” whose bigoted, right wing political views often brought him into conflict with his son-in-law, played by Reiner. But Reiner then drew a distinction between Bunker and Trump.
“But the truth of the matter is, Archie Bunker, he was a racist. He was a bigot. He was very conservative. But he was human. He loved his wife, he loved his daughter, even loved his son-in-law, who he fought with, you know, mercilessly. Donald Trump is not, he doesn’t have any feelings. He’s not human. He’s a psychopath… And you guys have been talking about it for days now… He wants to rule as an autocrat as a dictator, and we have a big choice and I love that I can call on your show and talk to you know, to speak for Norman, that we have a choice. We can either choose fascism or democracy. And that is it and that simple. And you know, we can argue about issues once we’ve saved the democracy,” Reiner said.
Before the start of his ABC show on Wednesday, Jimmy Kimmel honored one of his personal heroes, groundbreaking TV creator Norman Lear, who died Tuesday night at age 101.
Kimmel of course expressed his heartfelt appreciation for Lear, creator of landmark shows like “All in the Family” and “The Jeffersons,” who Kimmel called “one of the most important and impressive people I ever had the pleasure of meeting.”
But the ABC host also paid tribute to Lear’s legendary sense of humor by sharing a hilarious, profanity-filled thank you note Lear once sent him.
“Hi, before we start the show, and before the audience comes into our theater. I just wanted to tell you that, last night at around 7 PM, we lost not only a giant in the world of television, but a great man who was one of the most important and impressive people I ever had the pleasure of meeting,” Kimmel began.
“His name is Norman Lear. Norman was the genius who brought us some of the greatest television shows and characters of all time. ‘All in the Family,’ ‘Good Times,’ ‘The Jeffersons,’ ‘Maude,’ ‘The Facts of Life,’ ‘Diff’Rent Strokes,’ ‘Sanford and Son,’ ‘One Day at a Time,’ ‘Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman,’ ‘Fernwood Tonight’ — it’s an incredible list and he was an incredible person,” Kimmel continued.
“He changed situation comedy in the best possible way. He taught us so much about so many serious things, always making us laugh while he did it, and everyone who works in or even watches television owes him a great debt. Especially me,” Kimmel said. “I was fortunate enough to work with Norman on several projects over the last five years, including live revivals of some of his greatest shows and I loved him dearly.”
Kimmel then explained how a year ago, he and his wife sent Lear a t-shirt for Christmas that had “Norman F-ing Lear” printed on the front. “And He loved it. He wrote us a note. A thank you note. I want to share that with you.”
Kimmel then read the letter aloud, which was as follows:
Dear Molly and Jimmy,
I can’t f—ing believe this f—ing sweatshirt. It’s something I’ve always wanted more than I can f—ing tell. You guys are the f—ing best and I wish you the dearest, sweetest, greatest f—ing holiday season in the history of holiday f—ing seasons.
Signed
Norman F. Lear
“His middle name was Milton so,” Kimmel said after reading, it, visibly tearing up. “Norman was a hundred when he wrote that. He died last night at 101. 101 years and somehow, it wasn’t enough. He leaves behind his wife Lyn, a beautiful family, and a legacy that won’t ever be matched. It would be impossible. We were all lucky to have him. I hope we never forget him, or the many the lessons he taught us.”
Kimmel concluded by noting that Lear “never said goodbye. He’d say ‘to be continued,’ and ‘over and next.’ And so that’s how we’ll leave it. To be continued…over and next.”
After years without a proper vacation, a debt-ridden family heads to San Antonio, Texas, with plans to spend a big wad of cash — if only it was theirs.
The suits don’t want any Westerns, Jane Seymour says.
The actress said in an interview by The Messenger website that she recently pitched an idea for a Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman reboot.
“We’ve actually got one written, and we’ve got the whole series planned out,” Seymour said. “We just took it to one of the networks, and they said that they weren’t interested in Westerns.”
That’s even though Yellowstone and several other Taylor Sheridan stories have become giants.
“I think it’s really crazy,” she said. “There seems to be a lot of very successful Westerns, so I didn’t get that at all.”
Seymour was equally baffled by a follow-up idea, which presumably came from the same executive.
“It was pitched to me last night, believe it or not, to do Dr. Quinn as a contemporary piece,” Seymour said. “I’m going, ‘Why?’ The whole point of Dr. Quinn is that life hasn’t really changed that much from the 1870s to now in some ways. In other ways, in a very big way. But a lot of the same issues, are still issues today, and I think that was what was so magical about it.”
Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman ran for six seasons on CBS from 1993 to 1998. There were also two TV movie sequels in 1999 and 2001.
“There were a lot different elements,” Seymour said of Dr. Quinn’s appeal, “also the idea of different kinds of family. If it’s authentic and it deals with the human condition, whatever the genre, then I think it’s very popular.”
Seymour is currently on Acorn TV’s Harry Wild, which was recently renewed for a third season, which will premiere in 2024. The first two seasons are available to stream on Acorn TV.
Geffen Records has a new dance label, Disorder. The label is being launched Thursday (Dec. 7) by Geffen in partnership with longstanding electronic music executive David Dollimore. Based in London, Disorder will sign DJs, producers, artists, brands and labels.
Dollimore has a long history as a dance music tastemaker, working at London’s lauded Ministry of Sound (where he started as an intern) for 15 years and helping develop the careers of artists including Eric Prydz, Duke Dumont, Axwell, Benny Benassi, MK and Avicii. When Ministry of Sound was acquired by Sony Music UK in 2016, Dollimore became president of RCA Label Group, which clocked dance hits from artists including CamelPhat, London Grammar and Jade Thirlwall during his tenure.
“Disorder will be an incubator for the future of dance music and redefine the landscape as we see it,” Dollimore said in a statement. “This label will be a portal to the underground club world, distilling future trends for mass consumption. We will be leading a generation forging alternative routes to the top, outside the confines of dated traditional structures. The Disorder artist will resonate in fashion, culture, lifestyle and entertainment, across multiple platforms, forming a newgen of future visionaries within the field.”
The first project from Disorder is WHP Records, an imprint created in collaboration with The Warehouse Project, the tastemaking Manchester-based dance events brand that’s been putting on shows in and beyond the city since 2006. Founded by Richard McGinnis and Sam Kandel, The Warehouse Project sells more than 300,000 tickets every winter season. WHP Records is intended to transmit the sounds of its events to the world.
“Having spent the last two decades dedicated to finding and breaking talent, we can’t believe it has taken us this long to make this jump but David was the one person we wanted do it with,” McGinnis and Kandel said in a joint statement. “Being able to work with artists in a whole new way, providing tangible support in the live space alongside equitable partnerships, with David and Tom who share our passion for this culture is an exciting new chapter for us.”
“Together,” added Dollimore, “[Geffen Records president] Tom March, Rich, Sam and the impressive team at The Warehouse Project and I, have the network, the platform and the global infrastructure with Universal to make this one of the most successful partnerships in dance music.”
March has his own storied history with electronic music, having started his career in dance music PR and working with artists including Avicci, Alesso, The Chemical Brothers, Tiesto, Deadmau5, Jax Jones, DJ Snake, Zedd, Meduza, Swedish House Mafia and Becky Hill.
“At Geffen we are always looking to partner with our industry’s most successful and innovative entrepreneurs,” March said in a statement. “I couldn’t be more excited to partner with David as he heads back to what I consider him to be the best in the world at — signing and A&R-ing dance music. Between us, we have worked with many of the great names in the last twenty years of electronic music. I am so happy to be joining forces with him now.”
What is truly the cost of a lifestyle we have become comfortable with? When we order extra bacon on a sandwich, do we ever stop and consider everything that went into providing that strip of bacon? I can’t say that I always consider where my food is sourced or the cost for others to make certain aspects of my life more comfortable and enjoyable. The Smell of Money is a documentary that makes you consider these questions as it attacks the world of hog farming in North Carolina in the United States.
A mist of reddish-brown liquid is cast over a field of growing crops. A sight that becomes immensely more unsettling when you realize that the liquid being sprayed into the air is not just muddy water but stewed and sunbaked hog crap. More unsettling is the realization that this is actively taking place next to people’s homes, engulfing and affecting the very air they breathe.
Hog waste is pumped out of holding barns and emptied into pits in the ground, referred to as “lagoons.” These “lagoons,” or “cesspools,” as protestors of the practice call them, are open-air ponds where hog waste is pooled to sit in the sun and bake in the North Carolinian heat. While using animal waste is an extremely common practice in the fertilization process on farms, it is not very pleasant when you are unwillingly exposed to it on a daily basis. When in close proximity for long periods of time, the smell can be overwhelming and nauseating. Such is the experience of some North Carolina residents.
“…follows a handful of families whose properties are adjacent to pig farms in rural North Carolina…”
The Smell of Money follows a handful of families whose properties are adjacent to pig farms in rural North Carolina. One of the neighbor homeowners is Elsie Herring, whose grandfather bought the property after he was freed from slavery. Elsie and her family lived on and enjoyed their property for years before corporate pig farms purchased land surrounding them and moved into their operation. At first, the sights, sounds, and smells of the hog farm were unpleasant. But over time, the long-term effects became apparent as health problems began to arise.
In true David versus Goliath fashion, Elsie, along with other families affected by the hog farms in her area, attempts to go toe to toe with the corporately supported pig farms with legal action. Years go by, families are threatened, and little progress is made. With money comes power and influence. Since the food corporations operating the hog farms have far more money than the longtime residents, the locals are faced with a seemingly endless uphill battle.
Along the way, some high-profile individuals joined in to help the cause. The documentary features an interview with Senator Cory Booker and footage of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. getting involved in the cause. Also included in the documentary is a man named Don Webb, who once owned and operated a hog farm himself but left the business after realizing the negative impact it had on his neighbors and the environment. He, too, joins the fight in helping the affected locals stand up to the corporate entities.
This type of documentary is meant to bring awareness to a problem and serve as a call to action for its viewers. The Smell of Money does so effectively with disgusting footage of the hog farm practice and compelling testimony from residents. I was not left thinking that I should question removing pork or any other type from my diet, but I was left thinking about how I could make a more concerted effort to do a little research before purchasing certain food products on my next grocery trip.
Zach Hyman posted his second hat trick of the season as the Edmonton Oilers crushed the Carolina Hurricanes 6-1 Wednesday night at Rogers Place.
It was the start of a six-game home stand for the Oilers, who have won five in a row.
The Oilers blitzed the Hurricanes with four goals in the first period, including two in the first 41 seconds. Ryan McLeod converted a pass from Warren Foegele 28 seconds into the game, then Mattias Ekholm tapped home a feed from Connor McDavid.
“I thought it was a real mature effort tonight,” Foegele said post-game. “We pot two goals quick and then we stayed with it. We weren’t cheating for offence after that lead–just solid checking by the whole team. To win in this league you’ve got to hold leads and it was nice that we did that.”
Story continues below advertisement
Zach Hyman spun out of the corner and stuffed in his 13th at the 5:46 mark, chasing Carolina goalie Pyotr Kochetkov who allowed three goals on six shots. Hyman would strike again later in the period, ripping a wrister behind Antti Raanta.
“Just a huge start and then obviously we were able to settle in, and I thought Stu made some big saves. It was a great team win,” Hyman said.
“He plays the right way. He doesn’t take shortcuts,” Oilers Head Coach Kris Knoblauch said post-game. “He’s finding ways to score goals and it’s nice to see because he’s not taking shortcuts on the defensive side to score those goals.”
Early in the second, Mattias Janmark blocked a shot at the Oilers blue line. The carom sent Warren Foegele in on a breakaway. He stuffed in his fourth to snap a 16-game goalless drought.
“When you go through stretches where you don’t score, that’s where you tell yourself you have to do the little things and the points will even out at the end of the year, and I think that’s what we saw tonight,” Janmark said. “That’s a play you try to make every game, whether you’re scoring or not, and the fact it ends up as an apple is a plus.”
“I think he’s a really smart hockey player,” Knoblauch said about Janmark. “He takes care of the puck, does the little things, blocks shots–Foegele benefitted from a great block from Janny.”
Story continues below advertisement
Jordan Staal put Carolina on the board with 12:55 to go in the third. The Oilers replied less than three minutes later. McDavid showed off some dazzling stick-handling, then flipped a pass to Hyman who notched his third of the night.
Janmark and McDavid both had three assists. Evan Bouchard had two assists to extend his point streak to nine games.
Stuart Skinner earned the win in goal with 38 saves.
The Oilers will host Minnesota on Friday (630 CHED, Face-off Show at 5:30 p.m., game at 7 p.m.).
Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer has been confirmed for a theatrical release in Japan. Although it did not specify an exact date, local distributor Bitters End said today that the biographical epic will be in Japanese cinemas in 2024. The decision was made “following months of thoughtful dialogue associated with the subject matter and acknowledging the particular sensitivity for us Japanese,” Bitters End said in a statement (read it in full below.)
There had been a question mark over Oppenheimer playing in Japan given sensitivities to the subject matter – the film centers on the complicated and brilliant physicist tasked with leading the Manhattan Project, the secret effort to create the atom bomb, and the moral and political struggles that followed.
Nolan has previously been asked why he chose not to explicitly depict the bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the ensuing fallout. That decision, he told NBC, was made because the film is told subjectively from Oppenheimer’s point of view. “To depart from” his experience “would betray the terms of the storytelling… He learned about the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on the radio — the same as the rest of the world.”
Also this summer, the phrase #NoBarbenheimer trended in Japan as many Twitter users were disturbed by fan-produced online memes and imagery they felt trivialized nuclear weapons and the devastating fallout of the bombs.
From Universal, Oppenheimer stars Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr., Florence Pugh, Josh Hartnett, Casey Affleck, Rami Malek and Kenneth Branagh.
It began global rollout in July this year, and has grossed over $950M worldwide. It is the No. 3 movie of 2023 and the No. 1 biopic of all time.
Bitters End has a history of working with awards contenders. Other Universal titles it has released in Japan include Darkest Hour and Licorice Pizza.
Here’s the full statement from Bitters End:
“We, Bitters End, will release Christopher Nolan’s ‘Oppenheimer’ in Japan in 2024. The decision was made following months of thoughtful dialogue associated with the subject matter and acknowledging the particular sensitivity for us Japanese. After screening the film, we feel Christopher Nolan has created a singular cinematic experience that transcends traditional storytelling and must be seen on the big screen. We invite the audience to watch the film with their own eyes when it comes to Japan.”
Hollywood’s role in Asian TV has changed in the streaming era and age of hyper-local content. A top-down sales and distribution position has eased into one of co-production, co-financing and acquisition.
A high-powered array of western executives offered experienced views and discussed their current positions at a panel session Thursday within the Asia Television Forum & Market in Singapore.
“We want to be an additive partner on shows that cannot be created locally, said Georgina Gonzalez, director of scripted series and global series at Universal Int’l Studios, NBCU. “We are typically looking at bigger budget or creative packages […] We mostly act like a traditional studio and can finance development or help with optioning material. But we can also do deficit financing as something is going into production and recoup afterwards through sales.”
Mandy Chang, head of global documentaries at multinational producer and distributor Fremantle, said, “We can studio finance, but mostly [that is restricted to the] biggest titles. Typically, we look for shows to get [broadcaster or streamer] commissions. The market has slowed down, so everybody needs to be resourceful, find where the money is.”
Ron Halpern, EVP of global production and talent management at Studiocanal, the French multinational with European pay-TV operations and some Asian production activities, said that the group has not typically co-produced in Asia, but that is changing. “We can studio finance or develop and different models are available.”
The panelists tackled the inevitable question about whether it is better to produce a quintessentially local show or to locally produce one that also aims to be seen overseas.
“Not all shows can work internationally. The quality of story-telling needs to be high for that to happen,” said Chang.
And not all shows need to set their sights overseas. “There is a space for good local content,” said Halpern. Anonymous Content talent manager, Kimberly Carver’s advice was simpler still. “Create the package first,” she said. Only then decide the route to market and financial structure.
Local producers have resources that the overseas groups may not. These include talent relationships and established relationships with in-country commissioners.
Tenacity and simplicity may also be assets. “Nobody wants period drama these days. Everyone says they want contemporary and aspirational. But don’t give up when people say no on that [because cycles change].”
And “make sure to have a two-sentence pitch,” was an idea that was widely embraced by all the participants.
While for production designer Ruth De Jong, it would’ve been ideal to be well rested ahead of her first collaboration with Christopher Nolan on his Uni historical epic Oppenheimer, she wound up boarding the project with Jordan Peele’s alien invasion pic Nope just barely in the rearview mirror.
Emma Thomas, the producer of Oppenheimer and wife of Nolan who has worked alongside him since the late 1990s, marvels at this prospect, which she images left De Jong with “no room to breathe.” But in conversation with Thomas on the process, De Jong explains that the quick turnaround between projects proved to be a net “positive,” if only because she “didn’t have time to get scared.”
On Nope, De Jong had worked with Hoyte van Hoytema and Scott Fisher, the cinematographer and special effects coordinator who would likewise carry over to Oppenheimer, so by the time Oppenheimer‘s below the line team began working together, there was plenty of “energy and synergy” going right into the project.
Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and the late Martin J. Sherwin, Nolan’s latest stars Cillian Murphy as the theoretical physicist, who we follow at work on the creation of the atomic bomb, as part of the Manhattan Project.
From early conversations with Nolan, De Jong understood that he was going for an aesthetic as “modern” as it was “timeless,” where just the right amount of accurate period detail would be layered into “simple” frames.
For De Jong, a couple of the most challenging environments to bring to life for Oppenheimer were the government-funded community of Los Alamos, New Mexico, the “massive” scale of which had to be captured on a less-than-massive budget, as well as the tower and basecamp for the Trinity testing site where the first nuclear test was conducted.
Thomas admits that Oppenheimer was “enormously ambitious” in relation to its budget, in the same way Dunkirk was, with De Jong pointing out that 150+ sets were erected over the course of the 57-day shoot. Thomas equates the process of bringing the film to fruition to walking “through fire,” singling out the pre-production process as particularly “bumpy” given the fact that production materials were “massively expensive” at the time of the shoot, which was happening shortly in the aftermath of Covid. Then, of course, there was the challenge of reconciling “the desire for what the world was going to be with the realities of how we were going to achieve that.”
Critical to that process, Thomas explains, was a period early on in pre-production that Nolan devotes to “pure creativity,” a time the filmmaker has come to value “massively” and brought into all his projects since Batman Begins. “We don’t bring our line producer on, we don’t bring our DP. We don’t bring anybody on,” Thomas explains. “It’s literally just about the pure blue sky thinking of what the project can be, creatively speaking, before the reality sets in and you have to start dealing with logistics.”
When introduced to Nolan’s process of “garage time” reflection, after going through something similar with Peele on Nope, De Jong found it to be “the smartest thing ever.”
“Carrying that over with Chris was thrilling because it was so effective with Jordan. But also, Chris was a brand-new director who I didn’t have a shorthand with,” the designer explains. “We didn’t know each other and the expectations, and it gave us that time to work all of that out without any noise…[as far as] the logistics of time, budget and money…The possibilities were endless, and it was wonderful.”
Going on to gross over $950M worldwide upon its release over the summer, Oppenheimer was written and directed by Nolan, with Thomas producing alongside Atlas Entertainment’s Charles Roven.
Other topics covered in our Process installment on the film include why Thomas never goes on location scouts, the concept of “medium resistance” from Nolan and Thomas’s artist friend Tacita Dean and how it informs their work, the qualities that Thomas most values in production design, the “many miracles” performed on set by De Jong, borrowing an Oval Office set from Veep when a location fell through at the last minute, and more. View the full conversation above.
Marisa Pavan, the Italian actress who received an Oscar nomination as Best Supporting Actress for the 1955 drama The Rose Tattoo, died Wednesday at her home in Gassin, France. She was 91 and no cause was given. Her death was announced on her official social media site.
Pavan, the sister of actress Pier Angeli, appeared in such films as Diane (1956), starring Lana Turner, The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (1956) with Gregory Peck, and in the film noir The Midnight Story (1957) with Tony Curtis.
In The Rose Tattoo, Pavan played Rosa, who grieves the death of her husband until meeting a truck driver played by Burt Lancaster.
Pavan lost in her Oscar category to Jo Van Fleet, who also appeared in The Rose Tattoo, but won the Oscar for East of Eden.
Other films Pavan starred in during the ’50s include John Paul Jones, a historical adventure film starring Robert Stack.
In 1956, Pavan married French actor Jean-Pierre Aumont, and the two remained together until Aumont’s death in 2001. She is survived by her sons, Jean-Claude and Patrick.
“Have you seen the sausage ad?” Andrew Scott asked me.
“No, no, we’re not going to talk about that,” Paul Mescal said.
It was a mid-November morning in Los Angeles, and I was having breakfast with two actors who have created some of the most indelible romantic leads of recent vintage: Scott, 47, played the “Hot Priest” on the second season of “Fleabag,” while the 27-year-old Mescal broke through — and broke hearts — as the conflicted jock Connell in Hulu’s “Normal People.”
Now, instead of aiming those love beams at women, they’ll point them at each other in the drama “All of Us Strangers,” due Dec. 22 in theaters. It’s like an Avengers-level team-up, if the Avengers recruited exclusively from the ranks of sad-eyed Irish heartthrobs who caused a sensation over the 2019-20 television season.
But before we could talk about their sexy, shattering new movie, Scott gently ribbed his co-star about an ad for an Irish sausage brand, Denny, that Mescal had starred in just out of drama school. (Though the rest of the world was introduced to Mescal in “Normal People,” Ireland already knew him from the ubiquitous sausage commercial.)
“Look, I needed that job in a massive way,” Mescal said. “That paid my rent for the rest of the year. But if I could take it back …”
“Ah, no, it’s lovely you have that!” Scott said. “I actually thought the character you created in the sausage ad was …”
“… career defining?” Mescal offered.
“It made me want a sausage!” Scott said a little too eagerly, causing both men to laugh. “Easy, folks, that’s too easy a joke,” Mescal said.
Scott and Mescal’s teasing, affectionate chemistry is put to excellent use in “All of Us Strangers,” directed by Andrew Haigh (“Weekend,” “45 Years”). Scott stars as Adam, a lonely writer who finds that his childhood home has become a mysterious portal that allows him to reconnect with his long-dead parents (played by Claire Foy and Jamie Bell). At the same time as Adam grapples with this past made manifestly present, he navigates an uncertain but tantalizing future with his neighbor Harry (Mescal), with whom he develops an intense romantic bond.
Over breakfast, we discussed the movie, which recently took the top prize at the British Independent Film Awards in addition to wins for directing, writing and Mescal’s supporting performance. Here are edited excerpts from our conversation.
Andrew, you were attached to this movie first. How did you feel when Paul was cast?
SCOTT I was really thrilled because I was hoping that people would be able to see how cinematic and brilliant that role is.
MESCAL It never occurred to me that people wouldn’t be interested in it.
SCOTT Well, the character is such a vessel for love. To be able to play love, it’s something that you have to just know how to embody, and Paul is so excellent about being able to allow the audience in. When I heard he was interested, I was saying to Andrew, “Make that happen!”
MESCAL Even if I didn’t like the script or Andrew Haigh as much as I do, and I knew Andrew [Scott] was going to be doing the film, I still would have done the film.
SCOTT Would you?
MESCAL A hundred percent. And I know that probably sounds sycophantic, but when I was reading it and imagining you’d do it, I thought, “This is built for an actor of your caliber.” There’s lots of brilliant dramatic actors in the world, but what I think separates Andrew is his capacity to understand the dramatic requirements of a scene but also to play utterly against it. He finds humor in subject matter like this, which is really quite heavy, and if you can make an audience laugh, you’re halfway to making them cry.
This is a very tactile movie, too.
SCOTT There’s so much touching, whether that’s familial touching or a more sensual thing. People have talked an awful lot about the chemistry and the sex between our characters, but actually what I think is really radical and affecting about the relationship is how affectionate and tender they are with each other. It’s such a beautiful thing to play, isn’t it? Just real care.
MESCAL I find it healing to watch that kind of emotional intimacy. I remember being surprised when we watched it for the first time, because I didn’t remember being so close to your face when we were talking, how we were totally taking each other in. There’s a weird thing that I don’t think you can cheat: You know how when somebody you love is talking to you, and you look at their lips? It’s like, Jesus, I can’t remember doing that.
Andrew, you’ve said before that acting is a matter of revealing. What’s being revealed about you by taking on this role?
SCOTT I think an awful lot, if I’m honest. I’m happy to be able to say that to be emancipated from shame has been genuinely the biggest achievement of my life. For a long time, I have felt very comfortable with myself, but it doesn’t take much to go back there — something a taxi driver can say can still wound you. If he might say, “You’ve got a wife?” You could go, “No, I don’t,” or is that sort of a lie by omission? I think the challenge was to undo the work and go to that place where you feel frightened.
How were you able to emancipate yourself from shame?
SCOTT I genuinely think that acting helped me. When I was a kid, I started doing elocution lessons because I had a really bad lisp. “She sells seashells,” I had to say that 17 times a day. So they sent me to elocution, which was boring, but eventually it was speech and drama classes. I was so shy and terrified, but then someone would say, “Get up and do an improvisation,” and some part of me felt …
MESCAL … free?
SCOTT Free, and I loved it. And then I practiced it a little bit more and then started doing it as a job. When I was 18 or 19, I was playing gay parts but I wasn’t out. A lot of people within the industry were queer, so I was surrounded by them and then, bit by bit, started to feel confident. To make something like [“All of Us Strangers”], it moves me, because I never thought that I’d get a chance to expose myself so much in a film like this or for it to be in such a trusting environment with such brilliant colleagues.
And do you rush headlong into the chance to expose yourself like that?
SCOTT I do. It’s my responsibility. The further I go into acting, I think that’s all it is, actually.
In the first scene you share, Paul’s character is boldly trying to flirt his way into Andrew’s apartment. Paul, it’s a kick to see you play a man so assertive and sure of what he wants.
MESCAL I was just so giddy because I don’t think I’ve got many opportunities to play somebody like that. It reminded me of characters I would have played in drama school — a lot more front-footed, a little bit bolder. Part of it was surprising an audience that might associate me with more interior, back-footed characters that I’ve played.
SCOTT I remember so clearly you saying the line, “There’s vampires at my door.” That line could seem completely preposterous and it’s a hard sell, but it’s unique, right? I’m obsessed with writing that has a real autograph about it.
MESCAL ChatGPT wouldn’t come up with that.
SCOTT Exactly. And human beings have an extraordinary way of expressing themselves. I feel the same way when people talk about big acting.
MESCAL I love big acting.
SCOTT Some people do that kind of polite, nobody-will-notice-me acting, and sometimes it can be a little dull.
MESCAL You’re looking for an opportunity to play something truthfully, but also if that truth can be a bigger, more fractious choice, maybe that could be fun.
What’s the biggest acting you’ve ever done?
SCOTT Oh my God. Pick a card, any card. I did a play called “Present Laughter” by Noël Coward, about a guy who’s an over-the-top actor. It was kind of a farce, and I’m obsessed with farce.
MESCAL I am so jealous of people who can do farce, I don’t know where I would start.
SCOTT It’s all about timing the slam of the door, and there’s no greater feeling than when you’re talking to the other actor and you are waiting for the audience to stop laughing. You’d love it because it’s so physical as well.
MESCAL I’m just a bit scared of comedy because I didn’t do a lot of it in drama school. Don’t think [I’ve got] a particularly funny disposition.
SCOTT Are you out of your mind? I’m going to have a little think now.
MESCAL I’d love to do a rom-com.
SCOTT I think you’d be very good at playing some sort of neurotic.
MESCAL Really?
SCOTT Yeah. I love those kinds of characters that don’t have a sense of humor.
MESCAL No sense of humor. Great. I can do that, I can do that easily. [Laughs.]
With “Normal People” and “Fleabag,” where you played romantic leads, how did you handle the intensity of the audience imprinting on you?
MESCAL I remember the first couple of months of that happening, I was like, “Jesus, what can I do?” And the answer is actually nothing. There’s nothing you can do about it if somebody wants to imprint or project onto you.
SCOTT That was all during the pandemic, wasn’t it?
MESCAL Yeah, yeah.
Was it better or worse that you were in your house for most of it?
MESCAL Much, much better. Even doing junkets when “Normal People” came out, I was really glad to do it within the confines of my own home. I could put the laptop down and nobody knew where I was.
Andrew, you weren’t trapped at home when “Fleabag” came out. Could you tell something had changed in the way people perceived you?
SCOTT It already happened a little bit when I did “Sherlock” [playing Moriarty] because that really does have a fandom. There were like a thousand people that would come to set, it was absolutely insane.
MESCAL Jesus.
SCOTT So “Fleabag” was completely different in that sense. It didn’t have the same frenzy.
Maybe not as you were filming it, but there was definitely a passionate fandom once it was released.
SCOTT There was, but I really enjoyed that because I love the show. I’m so proud of it and I loved that part, so I liked that it really affected people so much.
When you have a breakthrough project like those two series, and you’re seen differently in this business afterward, is it hard not to get swept up by all the offers that come your way?
MESCAL I know what I like. I don’t have the confidence in myself as an actor to do something that isn’t good. I don’t think I can pull the wool over people’s eyes with bells and whistles in terms of performance, and I’m actually glad I can’t do that.
SCOTT But is it weird when you are in L.A. now? I opened up my curtains this morning, and there you are.
MESCAL It is bananas. Yeah, I’m really proud of that, but I’m also acutely aware the only reason that’s happening is because people are enjoying the work that I’m doing. It can all disappear, like that.
Paul, you’re currently working on Ridley Scott’s sequel to “Gladiator.” I’m sure you’ve been pursued for a lot of blockbusters, so what made you choose this one?
MESCAL I love the first film and I think Ridley is an all-time great, so that was a no-brainer to me. I don’t really have a desire to make lots of big films in my life, but if this was the only big film I was ever to make, I would put my name into the mix anywhere for that. I’m having a great time doing it, but I also think there’s an obligation to understand that I don’t want an audience to get bored of me, or expect me to do the big indie film every year or two, because they’re really hard to get right.
Which is hard to get right, the big film or the indie?
MESCAL A film like “All of Us Strangers” or “Aftersun.” I’ve been incredibly lucky that those scripts came across my desk because there’s lots of other indies that are really well intentioned that don’t reach an audience. Also, it’s hard to go to the emotional well year after year with stuff like this, so I don’t want an audience to get bored of my choices or expect that I’m going to do that.
SCOTT Do you remember you got the “Gladiator” call when we were on the set of “All of Us Strangers”? You were so excited. I think I was even more excited, but you were so lit up about it. I think one of the fun things about being an actor that’s open to you is that you can do whatever you really want.
MESCAL That’s what makes you tick, to go from scenes like we get to play in “All of Us Strangers” to then doing stuff where you’re running around in an arena. If I was to boil down why I love this job, it’s that you get to go to work and pretend all day long but the thing that you would imagine as a child is actually actualized.
SCOTT Have there been any moments in “Gladiator” where you’re like, “This is amazing”?
MESCAL The first day was just bananas. There was camels and thousands of extras. Two close-ups on me. A close-up on the action. And you’re just like, “I’ve got to fake this till I make it.” Wild. Wild. Wild.
SCOTT Yeah, it’s playing. It really is. You’re required to play a part, you’re not required to work a part.
It’s heartening to hear you both describe acting as play or pretend. You talk about it in such joyful terms, but some of the other leading men I’ve spoken to will …
MESCAL … fetishize the pain.
SCOTT It embarrasses them.
MESCAL It’s important to say that “pretend” doesn’t make it any less emotional or difficult to do, but I think it actually gives you a greater range of possibility in a scene. That’s not to say there weren’t days on [“All of Us Strangers”] that felt like some sort of psychological torture.
SCOTT Absolutely.
MESCAL But the act of making it? It can’t be that, because then it just becomes about “How hard can I grip this table? How much pain can I put myself through in order to talk about it to the press?”
SCOTT I think of it sometimes like you invited somebody around for dinner and you said, “I could not find any organic chicken in the market, it was an absolute nightmare. Then I had to hoover the place from top to bottom.” And they’re just like, “Give me a glass of wine. I don’t want to hear about what you did, I’m just here for dinner.”
MESCAL Yeah, that’s spot on.
SCOTT What you need to do is have the generosity to get the chicken out.
Former “Extreme Weight Loss” participant Brandi Mallory died last month at age 40 from “complications of obesity,” according to an autopsy report.
The document from the Fulton County Medical Examiner, obtained by People, listed Mallory’s death as “natural” and found that there was “no evidence of significant recent injury.” The report, the magazine said, also noted that trace amounts of marijuana and alcohol were in the former reality star’s system, but that they didn’t factor into her death.
A spokesperson for the medical examiner did not immediately respond Wednesday to The Times.
Mallory, who also worked as a makeup artist and advocated for body positivity, participated in the fourth season of ABC’s makeover reality show “Extreme Weight Loss” in 2014. While on the program, Mallory lost nearly 150 pounds and later started a podcast in which she discussed it.
She was found dead Nov. 9 in Stone Mountain, Ga. Law enforcement officials said that she was discovered unconscious in her car in a parking lot after picking up dinner from a restaurant the previous night.
Mallory was raised by Mormon parents and grew up participating in the world of beauty pageants. When Mallory was 10, a pageant judge commented harshly on her weight and, by the time she was 12, Mallory decided to pull out of competitions because of constant criticism.
According to a 2018 interview, the Clark Atlanta University alum said she decided to begin losing weight after one of her sorority sisters died at age 29 of a heart attack.
“It was devastating … and I was literally waking up every day like, ‘This might be my last day waking up,’” she said. “When it’s playing on your mind that, ‘I might have to do something about my weight because I’m afraid that I might die too,’ then you might need to pay attention to something like that.”
Chris Powell, who served as the host and trainer on “Extreme Weight Loss,” spoke fondly of his time with Mallory following her death.
“She just had that spark of life and love,” Powell told People in November. “This whole thing really sucks, the fact that she’s gone. But I mean, gosh, spending a year with someone, you go through a lot and we share a lot. Countless times of just all hanging out together and just laughing our asses off and having fun and joking around and playing pranks on people.”
A funeral service for Mallory took place on Nov. 20 at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Tucker, Ga., and was attended by her friends and family.
Marvel just reconfigured its Avengers plans, and we appear to have an unlikely but sensible choice for Reed Richards.
Another week, another unexpected series of events. This is what we’ve come to expect with MarvelBlog News.
Avengers: Kang Dynasty Changes Again
Image: Disney
On July 22nd, 2022, Marvel confirmed what many had anticipated.
The next Avengers movie would focus on Kang, the villain introduced at the end of Loki season one.
This title, Avengers: Kang Dynasty, would function as the Avengers: Infinity War of another two-part Avengers story.
Source: Marvel Studios
Marvel intended to release Avengers: Secret Wars as the second half of the saga, the next Avengers: Endgame.
Kevin Feige and his team plotted every detail straight down to the director.
Marvel selected the pandemic era film director who had performed the best in terms of quality and box office, Destin Daniel Cretton of Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
Source: Marvel Studios
Feige rewarded Cretton with a new contract in 2021, locking down the filmmaker for a long time to come.
However, much has changed since then, not the least of which includes Kang actor Jonathan Majors’ legal woes.
In addition, the Hollywood strikes of 2023 have reset the filming schedule for several projects, including many at Marvel.
Image: Marvel
In the wake of the box office failure of The Marvels, something we’ll discuss more in a bit, Marvel’s parent company, Disney, needs a hit.
So, the already important Avengers two-fer now becomes one of the most important films on the entire Disney schedule.
Disney expects to see results as the production ramps up, and that’s a problem because Cretton’s dance plate is currently full.
Source: Marvel
The accomplished director is also the executive producer and co-creator of the upcoming Disney+ series, Wonder Man.
Cretton has directed the first two episodes of the series, which will return to filming after the Thanksgiving holiday.
Marvel correctly determined that it was asking too much of Cretton by having him run both projects.
What Happens Now?
(Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images for Disney)
So, let’s start with Cretton. He’s in good with Disney, which will be a recurring theme today.
Since Disney runs Marvel, anyone Disney respects will eventually make their way to the MCU.
Similarly, any proven director who does good work will stay with Disney for as long as they want.
Photo: Marvel
In Cretton’s case, he recently executive produced the popular Disney+ series, American Born Chinese as well.
He will continue working with Marvel on Wonder Man as well as the Shang Chi sequel. He’s not going anywhere. He just can’t do three projects at once.
Taking on too much is exactly what has gotten Kevin Feige into trouble since the pandemic’s start.
Source: Jessie Grant/ Disney/ Getty Images
In short, Marvel is learning from some recent mistakes. Cretton shouldn’t try to be in three places at once, nor should Feige, really.
Instead, Marvel will hand the keys to Avengers: Kang Dynasty to…someone. Probably.
The film is currently scheduled to debut in theaters on May 1st, 2026, which is sooner than you may think. That’s just over 30 months from now.
For a project without a director, that’s a tight timeline, especially for a vital project that will require a metric ton of CGI special effects.
Don’t be surprised if Disney pushed the dual Avengers titles back a year each.
Source: Marvel Studios
With Thunderbolts and Blade not arriving until 2025 and Fantastic Four and X-Men on the horizon, well, nothing is set in stone here…at least not anymore.
Speaking of which…
Marvel Finally Picks Its Reed Richards
Source: Marvel
Now is the time on MarvelBlog News when we discuss Fantastic Four casting. Again.
I’ve grown to hate this story more than I hate the New Orleans Saints. And as a lifelong Falcons fan, hating the Saints is part of my genetic encoding.
Seriously, Marvel confirmed a Fantastic Four movie in 2022. Since then, we’ve discussed casting rumors at a rate of, like, every three months.
Step into the Negative Zone. Photo: Marvel Comics
That’s been happening for more than three years now, and I’m utterly sick of it because so many plans have fallen by the wayside.
Thankfully, we’re finally approaching the finish line here, albeit with a chaotic final stretch.
Marvel has apparently settled on the actor to portray Reed Richards, and it’s legitimately someone none of us had expected.
Source: Marvel Studios/ Marvel
After years of discussion about young candidates in their late 20s and early 30s, Fantastic Four has gone in an entirely different direction.
Remember when John Krasinski appeared as Reed Richards in Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness?
Everybody recognized that Krasinski was unlikely to portray the role again due to his age. He turned 44 last month.
Well, Marvel just threw a rather epic curveball by selecting someone even older instead.
Disney favorite Pedro Pascal, The Mandalorian himself, will reportedly portray Reed Richards in the Fantastic Four franchise.
Pascal isn’t much younger than me, and I was born in the 1960s. He’s 48 years old.
Boba Fett (Temuera Morrison), the Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal) and Fennec Shand (Ming-Na Wen) in ‘The Mandalorian’ Photo: Lucasfilm Ltd.
For this reason, I’ve waited and waited for Marvel to deny this story, which hasn’t happened yet.
Instead, Pascal’s strong respect within Disney has played a factor in his earning a vital role for the next decade of the MCU.
To a larger point, Marvel apparently won’t take chances with its casting for the time being. It will rely on seasoned pros like Pascal to right the ship.
Marvel Miscellany
Image: Marvel
Yeah, we can officially call The Marvels a bust.
When box office actuals came in last Monday, they actually fell $800k short of projections. Disney notoriously underestimates as a rule.
So, we knew right then and there that the demand for the project was lacking.
Image: Marvel
The film didn’t break $55 million domestically until Thursday, its seventh day in theaters.
As a point of reference, the much-derided DC movie, The Flash, managed $55 million on opening weekend.
The Flash finished with $108 million domestic and $266 million worldwide.
Image: Marvel
After a second weekend of $10.2 million domestically, The Marvels’ global running box office total of $161.3 million hints at a similar performance, possibly even less.
Yes, this is bad.
On a seemingly coincidental note, Marvel is rethinking all the plans it made a few years ago.
Image: Marvel
For example, Cretton wasn’t the only person to exit Avengers: Kang Dynasty, either. Writer Jeff Loveness was working on this project.
Based on recent reports, he’s no longer with Marvel at all.
In fact, a currently unverified source suggests that Marvel may move away from Jonathan Majors as Kang altogether.
Image: Marvel
I mentioned about six months ago that it was my understanding that this had already happened.
Questions have since arisen about whether Marvel is dropping Majors or the entire Kang story arc.
In the wake of the Loki season finale, let’s just say that anything is possible here.
Thanks for visiting MarvelBlog.com! Want to go to Disney? For a FREE quote on your next Disney vacation, please fill out the form below, and one of the agents from MickeyTravels, a Diamond-Level Authorized Disney Vacation Planner, will be in touch soon!
House of the Dragon’s first season flew in with all the drama, shocking moments, and, of course, dragons that fans expect from this universe. Season one took us back many decades before Daenerys Targaryen’s birth to show us the events leading to the decline of the mighty House Targaryen. Now, we are fully locked into the fury that Rhaenyra will rain upon her former BFF Alicent and her supporters after Jace’s death. What does the future hold for these warring factions? We shall see what happens in this upcoming season.
One thing we know is that everyone looks super intense yet hella fly in these first-look photos for season two.
Click To View Gallery
Ollie Upton/HBO
Here’s everything we know about House of the Dragon season two so far.
House of the Dragon Season Two’s Plot
The show is based on George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood, so book fans have a general sense of where this show will go. Of course, there will be some creative liberties taken, but the obvious “Dance of the Dragons” between Team Rhaenyra (the Black Queen) and Team Alicent will happen. Rhaenyra and her uncle-husband Daemon will wage war against Aegon II, Alicent’s son and the newly crowned king.
House Velaryon stands with the “Blacks” along with their massive navy. On the other side is the “Greens” with Alicent, her father Otto Hightower, Ser Criston Cole, and her son Aemond, the rider of Vhagar, the largest dragon in the world. There is no longer a chance at mediation as Rhaenyra’s rage takes over.
The battle between the Greens and Blacks is further set up with these gorgeous posters featuring Alicent and Rhaenyra.
George R.R. Martin himself has seen the first two episodes and said on his blog that they were “very dark.” Now, we all know you literally can’t see things sometimes on this show. But we are sure he means the tone and action are not pleasant. He also said the episodes are “powerful, emotional, gut-wrenching, heart rending” and “may make you cry.” Let’s prepare out hearts for heartbreak.
Behind the Scenes
House of the Dragon co-creator and executive producer Ryan Condal will continue on as a showrunner; however, his season one co-showunner Miguel Sapochnik will not return for season two. George R.R. Martin will continue his involvement as an executive producer. This time, fans will get eight episodes, which is two fewer than the first season.
House of the Dragon Season Two’s Cast
HBO
After many time jumps and casting changes in season one, House of the Dragon’s second season will stick with the faces we know now. And boy are there a lot of characters in this show. Matt Smith and Emma D’Arcy will return as Daemon and Rhaenyra Targaryen. Olivia Cooke (Alicent), Eve Best (Rhaenys Targaryen), Steve Toussaint (Corlys Velaryon), Fabien Frankel (Ser Criston Cole), Ewan Mitchell (Aemond Targaryen), Tom Glynn-Carney (Aegon Targaryen), Sonoya Mizuno (Mysaria), Matthew Needham (Larys Strong) and Rhys Ifans (Otto Hightower) are also set to round out the main cast.
Simon Russell Beale, Freddie Fox, Gayle Rankin, and Abubakar Salim have joined the series as well, according to Deadline. Beale plays Ser Simon Strong, Castellan of Harrenhal. Fox is Ser Gwayne Hightower. Rankin is Alys Rivers, and Salim is Alyn of Hull.
The series revealed new cast members at CCXP 2023, including Clinton Liberty as Addam of Hull, Jamie Kenna as Ser Alfred Broome, Kieran Bew as Hugh, Tom Bennett as Ulf, Tom Taylor as Lord Cregan Stark, and Vincent Regan as Ser Rickard Thorne.
House of the Dragon Season Two’s Release Date
HBO
There is currently no release date for House of the Dragon season two. However, the series is slated to release in the summer of 2024.
As you can see below, Grand Theft Auto 6 takes place in the GTA version of Miami, Vice City and will feature dual protagonists for the first time.
The trailer, which leaked online ahead of Rockstar’s planned debut, also confirms a 2025 release window for the game.
Rockstar confirmed in February 2022 that active development for the next entry in the Grand Theft Auto series was “well underway”, but it didn’t provide any more details about the game.
However, in September 2022, one of the games industry’s most high-profile data leaks saw over an hour of GTA 6 development footage published online , giving players their first look at the sequel to one of the best-selling games of all time.
One of the highlights in the final chapter of Norman Lear‘s legendary career were the Live In Front Of a Studio Audience specials recreating episodes from his classic sitcoms. He executive produced them with Jimmy Kimmel, winning an Emmy for Outstanding Variety Special (Live) together while also developing a close friendship.
On Wednesday night, hours after news broke that Lear had died Tuesday night at the age of 101, Kimmel opened his ABC late-night show Jimmy Kimmel Live with a moving tribute to his idol and friend.
“Norman was the genius who brought us some of the greatest television shows and characters of all time,” a visibly emotional Kimmel said, listing some of Lear’s most famous series, including All in the Family, Good Times, The Jeffersons, Maude, The Facts of Life; Diff’Rent Strokes; Sanford and Son, One Day at a Time; Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, and Fernwood Tonight.
“He changed situation comedy in the best possible way – he taught us so much about so many serious things – always making us laugh while he did it – and everyone who works in or even watches television owes him a great debt. Especially me,” Kimmel added.
The late-night host then then shared a funny story about Lear’s response to a “Norman f*ckin’ Lear” sweatshirt Kimmel and his wife had sent him as a holiday gift.
“101 years and somehow, it wasn’t enough,” Kimmel said. “We were all lucky to have him. I hope we never forget him – or the many the lessons he taught us.”
Kimmel ended his tribute with a nod to one of Lear’s signature lines.
“One of the many many sweet things about Norman was – he never said goodbye. He’d say ‘to be continued’ – and ‘over and next,’” Kimmel said. “And so that’s how we’ll leave it. To be continued…over and next.”
You can watch the video of Kimmel’s remarks above.
Earlier today, Kimmel payed tribute to Lear on Instagram.
Credit: British Lion Films
Horror has come a long way as a genre.Credit: CNN
Credit: Anchor Bay Entertainment
A list of the many subgenres in horror film and TV shows.Credit: Horror Screen
Credit: Netflix
Credit: Warner Bros.
Credit: Showtime
Not yet rated
Facebook
Mastodon
Login or register for updates…
